HIV, HCV and coinfection news

1.  Telaprevir and coinfection.

2.  Coinfection increases chances of bone fractures.

3.  Peregrine Pharmaceuticals advances study of bavituximab.

1. Telaprevir and coinfection

The experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor telaprevir, combined with pegyalted interferon plus ribavirin, reduced HCV viral load to undetectable levels in about 70% of HIV positive patients at weeks 4 and 12 in the first study of the drug in HIV/HCV coinfected people. Based on these eagerly awaited Phase 2 results, presented this week at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2011) in Boston, Vertex Pharmaceuticals plans to start a Phase 3 coinfection study later this year.  GO to the published abstract from the 18th annual CROI report at HIV and Hepatitis.

2. Coinfection increases chances of bone fractures. 

People coinfected with HIV and HCV appear to face an higher risk of bone fractures, according to new data reported Tuesday, July 20, at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna. Decreased bone mineral density is increasingly reported in the aging HIV-positive population. The risk of fractures has also been found to be increased among people living with HIV, compared with non-HIV-infected patients.  The overall prevalence of fragility fractures—a broken vertebrae, hip or wrist after falling from standing height or less—is higher among women, but men face a greater risk of death associated with fractures and they account for the majority of HIV cases in the United States.  The overall mortality is about 20 percent in the first 12 months after a hip fracture and is higher in men than women.  GO to AidsMeds for the entire report from XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna.

3.  Peregrine Pharmaceuticals advances study of bavituximab.

TUSTIN, CA - Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and viral infections, announced the completion of enrollment in the company's Phase Ib dose escalation safety study of bavituximab in patients coinfected with chronic HCV and HIV.  Completion of enrollment  and sets the stage for reporting clinical data at a medical conference in the second quarter of this year and beginning to evaluate combination treatment with the antiviral agent ribavirin.  Standard treatment for chronic HCV may soon evolve with the introduction of new targeted antiviral drug candidates, immune stimulation with interferon remains a critical component of therapy. Preclinical data support the potential combination of bavituximab and ribavirin.  In prior HCV clinical trials, bavituximab administered as monotherapy in single and multiple doses demonstrated a positive safety profile with no dose-limiting toxicities or serious adverse events. Bavituximab as a monotherapy also showed promising antiviral activity of up to 1.5 log viral load reduction.  Bavituximab may address a fundamental "immune evasion" mechanism exploited by many infectious pathogens. A growing body of published data from researchers worldwide shows that bavituximab's PS target, exposed on the surface of cells infected by viruses and protozoan parasites, suppresses the immune system's ability to fight disease. PS-targeting antibodies such as bavituximab bind to PS and block the immunosuppressive signals created by the target, thereby allowing the immune system to mount a robust immune response against the pathogen.  GO to Yahoo.