OLSO, Norway, Nov. 20, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- The clinical team at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila has successfully completed the phase 1 study for the A-VIRAL drug AV-1101. The drug has proven to be absorbed at optimal doses with a simple oral administration. No negative effects have been measured in the trials so far.
The testing of AV-1101 is a collaboration between San Lazaro Hospital in Manila and the St. Lukes Medical Center. San Lazaro Hospital is the center for treatment of AIDS in the Philippines. St. Lukes Medical Center is providing advanced laboratory services and animal studies.
AV-1101 belongs to a new generation of drugs with multiple effects. In vitro testing shows that a weekly dose of one 100 milligram pill might be sufficient to stop the replication of the virus. This is a low dose compared to existing therapies. The advantage of a low dose is less side effects and a better life quality. AIDS therapies with other drugs typically includes 15-100 pills a week. Typical side effects are reduced appetite and stomach pain.
The A-VIRAL researchers also believe that AV-1101 will be able to "reverse the time" so that the infection behaves more like in the early phases of the HIV infection where AIDS is no immediate threat. Einar Stokke, the CEO of A-VIRAL emphasizes: "We are excited that the drug seems to increase the life quality of patients through the few side effects. The drug is low cost to produce and the administration is simple. We believe that a therapy with one pill a week is an important step forward to provide an efficient drug to more people infected by HIV/AIDS. We have experienced a breakthrough in our research thanks to the professionalism, dedication and commitment of the Philippine medical community that A-VIRAL has collaborated with to advance the clinical studies on humans. I will in particular thank our principal investigators at San Lazaro, Dr. Efren Dimaano and Dr. Edna Santiago. I would also like to thank Dr. Cherrie Pascual - Head Chemist, AV-1101 research and laboratories, St.Luke's Hospital.
This is A-VIRAL
A-VIRAL is a research based biotech company. A-VIRAL develops effective therapeutic products in the area of life threatening diseases. The main focus is on HIV/AIDS, but the patent applications also include other viral diseases. A-VIRAL wants to develop a pipeline of products. A-VIRAL wants to be a leading international initiative recognized in the community of life-threatening diseases. The A-VIRAL strategy is to develop new drugs and to sell licenses to major pharmaceutical companies. The income is based on sales of licenses and royalties.
AV-1101 is a new drug for therapeutic treatment of HIV/AIDS. It took the A-VIRAL research team 2 years to develop AV-1101. AV-1101 stops the replication of the HIV virus in cell cultures. The researchers also believe that the drug has a new effect which re-establishes the balance in the immune defense. The drug seems to have few side effects, is simple to use (2-4 pills/day) and has a low production cost compared to the HIV/AIDS drugs on the market today. AV-1101 has the potential to be an important alternative for countries with high prevalence of AIDS.
The health authorities in the Philippines are interested in AV-1101. Clinical trials on humans will start soon after more than one year of preparations. The clinical trials are a collaboration between A-VIRAL, the University hospital in Manila (San Lazaro Hospital) and St. Lukes Medical Center. San Lazaro Hospital is the center for treatment and research on HIV/AIDS in the Philippines.
The health authorities in the Philippines are interested to test out the AV-1101 as soon as possible in order to hopefully start treatment using AV-1101 in a broader scale next year. The health authorities have approved to follow an approach to test out AV-1101 building on procedures developed by the FDA in the USA. The U.S. procedure is called "fast track" and is used to bring new promising drugs to fight life-threatening diseases to the market faster than the normal procedure.
A-VIRAL is a future-oriented organization utilizing the potential the Internet provides to strengthen the communication. A-VIRAL collaborates with high quality organizations satisfying international quality standards.