Study shows potential for histone deacetylase inhibitors to eradicate latent HIV infection

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today the publication of a study in the July 26 issue of the leading scientific journal Nature that provided early evidence for the use of a drug to dislodge reservoirs of hidden virus in patients receiving treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.   

Scientists from Merck Research Laboratories collaborated with researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, the Harvard School of Public Health, National Cancer Institute, and the University of California at San Diego in the study in a collaboration initiated last year to identify new ways to purge persistent infection of HIV from the body.

"We believe that the disruption and clearance of these virus reservoirs is a critical first step to the daunting challenge of finding a cure for HIV/AIDS," said Daria Hazuda, Ph.D., vice president, Merck Research Laboratories. "We are excited about this pioneering research and remain hopeful for its potential."

This is the first published study to show the potential for histone deacetylase inhibitors to attack latency within dormant virus pools in a translational clinical study. This research was first presented in March at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle and more recently at the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC.

"This work provides compelling evidence to support a strategy to directly attack and eradicate latent HIV infection," said David Margolis, MD, professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology, and epidemiology at UNC at Chapel Hill, who led the study.