ImQuest reports positive results of anti-HIV drug candidates

ImQuest studies have demonstrated that each of these highly novel pyrimidinedione inhibitors act by two distinct mechanisms of action, preventing the entry of HIV into human cells and inhibiting the activity of a key HIV enzyme, reverse transcriptase.

The studies on IQP-0410 showed that the compound targets a newly defined conformational cell surface target formed upon attachment of the virus to prevent the entry of HIV into the cells. The ImQuest team also demonstrated that IQP- 0410 was highly effective against multi-drug resistant HIV, especially viruses derived from patients treated extensively with protease inhibitors.

Robert Buckheit, Jr., executive vice president and chief scientific officer of ImQuest, said: “Our results clearly indicate that the pyrimidinediones represent a completely new class of HIV inhibitor that may be of great benefit to the prevention of HIV infection as a topical microbicide, the therapeutic treatment of primary HIV infection, as well as a salvage therapy for patients failing current drug regimens.”