"We are thrilled to begin this collaboration with Dr. Plemper as we broaden our internal efforts to develop RSV non-fusion inhibitor compounds to complement BTA585, our fusion inhibitor currently in a Phase 2a clinical trial," said Joseph M. Patti, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Aviragen Therapeutics.
"This collaboration with the outstanding team at GSURF will add to Aviragen’s growing portfolio of novel antivirals, focused on addressing respiratory infections with significant unmet clinical needs."
"My group has generated a portfolio of next generation RSV drug candidates. We are excited to partner with Aviragen to jointly develop the full clinical potential of these inhibitors," said Richard Plemper, Ph.D., Principal Investigator and head of a drug discovery laboratory at the IBMS.
"RSV infection can be particularly devastating to infants and the elderly. By joining forces with Aviragen, we will apply our highly complementary sets of expertise in an effort to address the problem."
Dr. Plemper’s research focuses on clinically significant members of the myxovirus families such as influenza virus and RSV. Studying the molecular replication mechanism of these pathogens, his laboratory has developed innovative drug screening technologies for the identification and characterization of much-needed novel therapeutics.