Medical research that attempts to prevent, treat, or cure HIV/AIDS has been ongoing for several years.
ABIVAX (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 - ABVX), an innovative
biotechnology company targeting the immune system to eliminate viral
disease, announced today that the Company presented new preclinical data
on ABX464, ABIVAX's first-in-class drug candidate for a functional cure
of patients with HIV/AIDS, during this week's HIV DART (Frontiers in
Drug Development for Antiretroviral Therapy) scientific conference in
Los Cabos, Mexico.
‘ABX464 exposure leads to a 50-fold upregulation of IL-22, a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, by macrophages as well as a 10-fold upregulation of the anti-inflammatory microRNA miR-124 in T-lymphocytes.’
The data show that in in vitro models, ABX464 exposure leads to a
50-fold upregulation of IL-22, a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, by
macrophages as well as a 10-fold upregulation of the anti-inflammatory
microRNA miR-124 in T-lymphocytes. In addition, ABIVAX reported for the
first time that in a preclinical model of colitis, treatment with ABX464
reduces macrophage recruitment into the intestine and also inflammatory
cytokine release (IL-6 and TNFa), thereby preventing the histological
changes of the gut associated with colitis.
Furthermore, Abivax disclosed that after stopping the treatment, the
protective effect of ABX464 in this disease model lasted for at least 6
weeks despite continued exposure to DSS, a substance well known to
induce the pathological features of colitis. This therapeutic effect is
mediated at least in part by IL-22, an anti-inflammatory cytokine known
to regulate tissue repair and recovery from colon injury, as antibodies
to IL-22 partly abolished this protection..
ABIVAX's oral presentation, entitled, "Anti-HIV drug candidate
ABX464 prevents intestinal inflammation by producing IL-22 in activated
macrophages" was given by Prof. Jamal Tazi (Director, Institute for
Molecular Genetics, CNRS and University of Montpellier, France and
Executive Committee Member, ABIVAX) during the
session on 'inflammation and cure'.
"This newly discovered anti-inflammatory effect suggests that our
lead compound, ABX464, may be able to modulate important disease
parameters not only in HIV, but also in other inflammatory conditions
like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)," said Prof. Jamal Tazi, and Prof.
Hartmut Ehrlich, CEO of ABIVAX added "We are rapidly responding
to these encouraging new data; ABIVAX is planning to start a clinical
proof-of-concept study of ABX464 to treat IBD during 2017,"
Source: Eurekalert
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