WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- (Business Wire)
NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NNVC)
(the "Company") reported today that it has designed and synthesized
novel nanoviricides® drug candidates in quantities sufficient for
testing in animals infected with the MERS Corona Virus.
Recently, New
York Times reported that the first case of MERS infection in the
United States was in stable condition. This person, a healthcare worker,
flew from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Chicago, and then by bus to Indiana (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/03/health/mers-virus-found-in-united-states-for-first-time.html?_r=0).
MERS is a new coronavirus similar to the SARS virus. It first appeared
in 2012 in the Middle East. Since then, about 400 cases have been
reported to the World Health Organization; about a third have been
fatal. While it has not spread easily between humans, there have been
outbreaks within families and in hospitals, where patients have infected
paramedics, nurses and doctors, reported the New York Times.
Using our platform technology, NanoViricides, Inc. has already developed
novel drug candidates against the MERS virus that mimic the MERS virus
binding to the host cell. The Company developed ligands that are
designed to bind to the MERS coronavirus spike protein, in the same
fashion that the cognate receptor of the virus, DPP-IV, binds to the
virus. We performed the ligand design using well established molecular
modeling techniques, based on published data regarding the MERS
coronavirus spike protein and DPP-IV binding. The ligands were then
chemically attached to the nanomicelle base polymer, thus making the
nanoviricides drug candidates against the MERS virus. The Company has
already successfully scaled up the synthesis to multi-gram scale,
sufficient for animal testing, and can easily scale the processes to
make kilogram quantities for widespread application in human patients if
they are found to be effective and safe.
“We have a very high expectation that these drug candidates will show
significant effectiveness in combatting the MERS virus infection, based
on our work against Influenza, HIV, HSV, and other diseases where
information on the virus-host cell binding was available,” said Anil R.
Diwan, PhD, President and Chairman of the Company, adding, “Further, we
have already established that the several nanoviricides we currently
have in development are very safe in preliminary animal studies.”
There are no known drugs or vaccines against the MERS coronavirus. No
small animal models for testing MERS therapeutics were available until
recently. Perlman and collaborators have recently reported a mouse model
(http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/03/05/1323279111.abstract).
In this model, mice were infected with adenovirus carrying the DPP-IV
gene to make them susceptible to the MERS virus. Both the safety and
effectiveness of any drug has to be determined experimentally. The
safety of a nanoviricide drug is expected to depend upon the safety of
the nanomicelle portion as well as the safety of the antiviral ligand.
“The rapid development and deployment capability of our platform
technology was demonstrated by how quickly we were able to create these
drug candidates,” said Dr. Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, Chief Executive
Officer of the Company, explaining, “The design of a set of viable
ligands was completed in merely three weeks, and the initial syntheses
took another four weeks.”
NanoViricides, Inc. currently has six drug candidates in its pipeline
and several research programs underway. The Company is advancing both an
injectable drug and an oral drug against Influenzas in IND-enabling
studies in its FluCide™ program. The injectable FluCide is being
developed for the seriously ill, hospitalized patients with
influenza-like illness. The oral FluCide drug is being developed for
out-patient influenza cases. Both of these drugs are broad-spectrum,
i.e. they are expected to work against most if not all influenza A
viruses. The Company believes this is so because the virus-binding
ligand in these drugs mimics sialic acid, and it is well known that all
influenza viruses bind to sialic acid receptors on a cell in order to
gain entry into the cell. Both of these anti-influenza drugs may also be
useful for prophylaxis, as in the protection of health care workers. In
addition, the Company has developed several other highly effective drug
candidates. These include HIVCide™, HerpiCide™, DengueCide™, and a
broad-spectrum nanoviricide eye drop formulation against viral
infections of the eye. The Company’s drug programs are based on the
Company’s patented “nanoviricide®” platform technology that enables
specifically targeting a particular type of virus with a novel mechanism
of action. In addition, the Company’s other research and development
programs include (a) broad-spectrum nanoviricides against a number of
Neglected Tropical Diseases, and (b) its novel ADIF™ ( “Accurate Drug In
Field”™ ) technologies which promise a way to attack novel viruses,
whether man-made (bioterrorism) or natural (such as MERS or SARS),
before they cause a pandemic.
About
NanoViricides:
NanoViricides,
Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com)
is a development stage company that is creating special purpose
nanomaterials for viral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide® class
of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus
particles and to dismantle them. The Company is developing drugs against
a number of viral diseases including H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu,
seasonal Influenza, HIV, oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the
eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue
fever, and Ebola virus, among others.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the
Company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events
could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein
and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release,
and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements
since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which
could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation
to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any
reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially
from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new
information becomes available in the future. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's
expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are
disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents
filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Although it is
not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include
the following: demonstration and proof of principle in pre-clinical
trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development
of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory
approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the
successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market
acceptance of our products.
Contacts:
NanoViricides, Inc.
Amanda Schuon, 310-550-7200
info@nanoviricides.com
Source: NanoViricides, Inc.
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