Clinical biotechnology firm Aphios has completed the enrolment of patients in a Phase I/II clinical trial of APH-0812 for HIV latency in Madrid, Spain.
HIV is said to infect several cell types during the course of infection and progresses to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
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The continuity of latent HIV-infected cellular reservoirs is the major hurdle to virus eradication with anti-retroviral therapy (ART), since latently infected cells remain a permanent source of viral reactivation.
Aphios CEO Dr Trevor Castor said: "Aphios, which means virus-free in Greek, is investigating therapeutics that can free the body of the HIV virus and result in an HIV cure."
According to Castor, the APH-0812, which comprises PKC modulator such as Bryostatin-1 or HDAC inhibitor, is being developed to reactivate latent HIV reservoirs that will help eliminating HIV-1 from the body by antiviral therapy or immunotherapy.
Aphios has collaborated with researchers at the University of Córdoba and clinical investigators led by Dr Santiago Moreno in Ramón y Cajal Hospital of Spain to carry out the trial.
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By GlobalDataThe trial is a Phase I/II randomised and placebo-controlled clinical study that will initially focus on the PKC component (Bryostatin-1) of APH-0812 in cART-treated HIV patients in Spain.
Aphios scientific advisor and University of Córdoba immunology professor Dr. Eduardo Munoz said: "Using an in vitro model of HIV-1 latency, we have shown that Bryostatin-1 reactivates HIV-1 latency in T cells through the classical PKC pathway.
"Low concentrations of Bryostatin-1 also down-regulate the expression of the human HIV-1 receptors and prevent de novo HIV-1 infection."
Image: Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 budding (in green) from cultured lymphocyte. Photo: courtesy of C. Goldsmith.
