Ceragenix drug kills HIV strains in study

The compounds, known as Ceragenins (CSAs), were invented and developed at Brigham Young University, and Vanderbilt University, before being licensed to Ceragenix.

“We are encouraged, based on these early in vitro studies, that CSAs may provide a completely unique family of anti-infectives, potentially active against a wide range of viral, fungal, and bacterial targets, including those resistant to current therapies,” stated Steven Porter, CEO of Ceragenix.

Mr Porter went on to say that the company now plans to explore the “use of this compound in both topical and systemic applications for HIV therapy.”

Ceragenins are synthetically produced small molecule chemical compounds comprised of a sterol backbone with amino acids and other chemical groups attached to them.

These compounds have a net positive charge that is electrostatically attracted to the negatively charged cell membranes of certain viruses, fungi and bacteria. CSAs have a high binding affinity for such membranes and are able to rapidly disrupt the target membranes leading to rapid cell death.