Message #18 From:
NewsBot Date: November 20, 2006 05:00:00 AM
PANC News Panacos Presents Bevirimat Overview at 10th International Meeting of the Institute of Human Virology
WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:PANC), a biotechnology company
dedicated to developing the next generation of antiviral therapeutic
products, today announced that Panacos' President and COO, Graham P.
Allaway, Ph.D., made a plenary presentation on bevirimat (PA-457) at the
10th International Meeting of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in
Baltimore, MD on November 17, 2006.
Additional virology analysis has been completed on clinical patient
isolates from the completed bevirimat Phase 2a study, where bevirimat
was administered orally to HIV infected patients for 10 days as a
monotherapy. Potent antiviral effects were found in that study, with a
median viral load reduction on day 11 of approximately 1 log10 at the
highest (200mg) dose with individual patients having greater than a 1.5
log10 reduction at that time point. As previously reported, standard
population genetic sequencing analyses demonstrated that no
bevirimat-resistant virus developed in patients who received bevirimat
in this Phase 2a study. At the IHV conference Dr. Allaway provided the
results of phenotyping experiments where viruses from all patients in
the 200mg cohort were propagated and tested for in vitro
sensitivity to bevirimat. He reported that viruses from these patients
were sensitive to the drug, with IC50 (median inhibitory concentration)
values ranging from 12.0 to 88.2 nM, similar to the range seen with
other patient isolates.
Dr. Allaway also presented results of several recently completed in
vitro studies of bevirimat, including an extended analysis of in
vitro synergy between bevirimat and approved drugs. Previous in
vitro studies of bevirimat found synergy with most approved drugs
tested. In the most recent studies, bevirimat was also found to be
synergistic with emtricitabine, tenofovir, and lopinavir. Additivity was
observed with all other drug combinations tested, including atazanavir,
and there was no evidence of antagonism between bevirimat and any
approved drugs tested in these studies.
Finally, Dr. Allaway presented data on the Panacos second generation
maturation inhibitor program. One goal of this program is to develop
maturation inhibitors that may have activity against bevirimat-resistant
HIV, should that appear in patients in the future. Panacos has
identified analogs of bevirimat that appear to have the same mechanism
of action as bevirimat and similar antiviral potency. Some of these
analogs retain wild-type activity against a viral mutant found in in
vitro studies that exhibits resistance to bevirimat. Furthermore,
analogs with reduced human serum protein binding have been identified,
which could have greater in vivo activity against
bevirimat-resistant virus.
Panacos plans to file an IND by the end of 2006 to initiate clinical
testing of a second generation maturation inhibitor.
About Panacos
Panacos is developing the next generation of anti-infective products
through discovery and development of small molecule oral drugs for the
treatment of HIV and other major human viral diseases. HIV infects
approximately 1.7 million people in North America and Western Europe and
approximately 40 million people worldwide. Approximately 650,000
patients are treated annually for HIV in the United States and Western
Europe. Resistance to currently available drugs is one of the most
pressing problems in HIV therapy and the leading cause of treatment
failure. Panacos' proprietary discovery technologies are designed to
combat resistance by focusing on novel targets in the virus life cycle,
including virus maturation and virus fusion.
Panacos' lead candidate, bevirimat (PA-457), is the first in a new class
of oral HIV therapeutics under development called maturation inhibitors,
discovered by Panacos scientists and their academic collaborators. Based
on its novel mechanism of action, bevirimat is designed to have potent
activity against a broad range of HIV, including strains that are
resistant to existing classes of drugs. The Company has completed seven
clinical studies of bevirimat in over 300 subjects, showing significant
reductions in viral load in HIV-infected subjects and a promising safety
profile, and is currently in Phase 2b clinical trials. In Phase 2b,
bevirimat is being tested in combination with approved drugs, with the
goal of selecting a dose or doses to take into pivotal clinical trials.
Initial data from the first cohort is targeted for release by the end of
this year.
About The Institute of Human Virology
IHV is a center of The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
and is affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
For more information visit www.ihv.org/meeting.
Except for the historical information contained herein, statements
made herein, including those relating to bevirimat's clinical
development, the potential results of treatment with bevirimat and
future clinical trials and clinical practice are forward-looking
statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks
as set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. These risks
and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from
any forward-looking statements made herein. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether
because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by applicable law.
