Selected Medicines in Development for HIV-AIDS

Gene Modification – CCR5 is a co-receptor on the surface of cells that allows the HIV virus to enter and infect into T-cells.  Without this receptor on the cells surface, HIV cannot infect the cells.  A cell therapy in clinical trials is designed to modify the DNA sequence encoding of CCR5 by exposing the patient’s own cells to a proprietary technology that renders the cells permanently resistant to the HIV virus.  The patient’s cells are extracted from the patient and then reinserted.

Attachment Inhibitor – A new class of anti-HIV medicines are intended to protect cells from HIV infection by preventing the virus from attaching to new cells and breaking through the cell membrane.  One medicine in development attaches to gp120, a part of the HIV virus, but not the target cell, and inhibits the entry of virus into cells by blocking the interaction between gp120 and cell receptors.

Topical Vaccine to Treat HIV – A vaccine candidate in development is a topical, therapeutic vaccine, administered through a skin patch.  The vaccine is comprised of DNA plasmids carrying HIV genes and is designed to stimulate HIV-specific T-cell immune responses that suppress virus replication and destroy and eliminate the HIV-infected cells.  In clinical trials, the vaccine has shown to decrease viral load by 70 percent in patients.

Changing the Genetics of HIV – An antisense medicine in development is different than other gene therapies because it uses a genetic delivery vehicle (or vector) derived from HIV-1 itself, removing disease-causing aspects of the virus.  The delivery vehicle appears to sustain the expression of genes delivered to the infected cells for a longer period of time – requiring a minimal number of infusions – and may delay the progression of AIDS and restore the patient’s immune system.  It appears to bind directly to the HIV RNA and consequently changes the genetics and biology of HIV, including molecular diversity and the ability of the virus to replicate.

Training the Immune System to Target HIV – A therapeutic vaccine in development consists of four synthetic peptides based on the low-mutating (conserved) parts from the protein p24 of the HIV virus.  The peptides are modified to increase the immune response of the vaccine and designed to target the immune response to the conserved parts of the p24 protein. A sustained immune response to the p24 protein has shown to be associated with delayed disease progression.

* From Medicines in Development for HIV/AIDS, 2011, PhRMA 

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