Argos starts Phase II proof-of-concept trial for HIV drug

AGS-004 is a product of the company’s Arcelis technology, a personalized, RNA-loaded dendritic cell-based immunotherapy that is perfectly matched to each patient’s unique HIV viral burden. The target population for the study is HIV-1 infected patients with durable viral suppression from active antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Lothar Finke, chief medical officer of Argos, said: “New HIV treatments, such as AGS-004, that could complement ART, provide a break or reduce the duration of ART, or even replace ART in some cases, would be a welcome addition to the available treatments for HIV. Although treatment with ART raises T-cell counts and improves patient immune function, its use does not improve the immune system’s ability to control HIV replication, which we believe AGS-004 is able to do.”