Progenics begins study of novel HIV treatment

The treatment is a humanized monoclonal antibody that specifically binds CCR5, a receptor that serves as a portal of entry for HIV into cells of the immune system. PRO 140 belongs to a new class of drugs, viral-entry inhibitors, which are designed to prevent HIV from entering and infecting healthy cells.

“Currently available therapies are limited by the emergence of multidrug-resistant virus, significant side effects, drug-drug interactions and the often-complex daily treatment regimens. PRO 140 has the potential to address each of these limitations and therefore may represent a new treatment paradigm for HIV patients” said Dr Jeffrey Jacobson, professor of medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.

Progenics is seeking to develop PRO 140 as new HIV therapy that combines infrequent dosing and a more favorable side effect profile than existing therapies.

The phase Ib multi-center study is being conducted in patients who have not taken any anti-retroviral therapy within the previous three months. Patients will receive a single intravenous dose of either one of three increasingly higher doses of PRO 140 or placebo. PRO 140 blood levels and CCR5 coating will be determined and compared with antiviral effects measured as changes in plasma HIV viral load following treatment.