Viral Genetics announced today that the results of a clinical trial of its investigational therapy for HIV infection, VGV-1, were recently published in a peer reviewed journal, HIV & AIDS Review.
The investigators observed that in patients failing anti-retroviral drug therapy, treatment with VGV-1 for sixty days was associated with undetectable viral load (level of virus in the blood as measured by HIV RNA) in half of the patients (5/10) within three months of treatment. Furthermore, by six months there was an average one-log drop in virus levels. VGV-1 (formerly called TNP) is a purified protein extracted from mammalian thymus tissue through a proprietary process.
The trial in Mexico enrolled 10 HIV positive patients who were failing to respond to their second or third regimen of anti-retroviral drug therapy. Patients develop resistance to current regimens of anti-retroviral therapy because of the HIV virus's ability to mutate. This resistance results in declining efficacy of anti-retroviral therapy and increases in viral load. Enrolled subjects in the Mexican study, had been receiving anti-retroviral therapy but were demonstrating decreasing viral control, and received VGV-1 injections twice weekly for eight consecutive weeks. They were then followed for safety and efficacy on markers of disease progression such as HIV-1 RNA (viral load or virus in the blood) for six months.