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Pharmaceutical giant Stirling Products has revealed that tests of its ImmunoXel drug suggest it could be an effective treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Following studies at a major national research centre in the US that started last year, the company said scientists had found a number of positive factors in the drug.
The findings from the research open up opportunities for ImmunoXel in clinical use.
The team of scientists found that ImmunoXel showed no signs of toxicity in the studies on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in advanced stages of SIV-disease.
It backs up previous clinical data that suggests the drug could be used to treat patients with HIV or TB.
The research also found that cytokine IL2 and proliferation marker K167 increased in response to exposure to a viral antigen.
The scientists concluded that this could be one of the mechanisms that supports the restoration of the CD4 cells in HIV/AIDS patients.
Peter Boonen, managing director of Stirling Products, said studies will continue so scientists can get a better understanding of ImmunoXel’s structural, molecular and cellular mechanics.
He said: “The preliminary study results provided to us strongly support the use of ImmunoXel in the treatment of HIV, and possibly as an adjuvant to certain HIV vaccines under development.”
Copyright Press Association 2010
