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news.Starpharma Holdings has announced that recent studies have shown that SPL7013, the active ingredient in its topical microbicide VivaGel, inhibits clinically-relevant strains of the human papillomavirus in laboratory tests.
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Studies conducted in the laboratories of Ian Frazer (University of Queensland, Australia) and John Schiller (National Cancer Institute, US) have demonstrated that SPL7013 is a potent inhibitor of several human papillomavirus (HPV) strains in vitro. In these tests SPL7013 has demonstrated activity against HPV strains responsible for genital or cutaneous warts (HPV-5, -6) and cancer causing HPV strains (HPV-16 & -45). Testing of other clinically relevant HPV strains is ongoing.
An interesting finding of the recent study is that SPL7013 showed potent inhibition of HPV-45, one of the strains commonly associated with cervical cancer which is not covered by existing HPV vaccines.
Jackie Fairley, Starpharma’s CEO, said: “These are exciting results which have positive implications for VivaGel, and which merit further investigation. In the light of these, it is possible that VivaGel has potential for reducing the risk of genital HPV infection, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US.”