European Research: news in the field of HIV prevention
EMPRO ANNOUNCES PHASE ONE CLINICAL TRIALS
A mixture of three monoclonal antibodies will be tested as topically applied microbicides to test treatment safety
Brussels, April 3rd 2007 – EMPRO (European Microbicides Project), the five-year project launched in 2004 under the aegis of the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) aimed at developing new microbicides to prevent HIV infection, announces phase one clinical trials. The clinical trials to test the safety of the formulation will be conducted in the UK on a group of 46 women (one-third treated with a high-dose of antibodies, one-third with a low-dose of antibodies and one-third with a placebo).
The three monoclonal antibodies (C2F5, C2G12 and C4E10) developed by Polymun, an Austrian-based partner of the EMPRO Consortium, have shown therapeutic effects. For the clinical trials, the antibodies will be formulated in a gel as topically applied microbicides.
“The antibodies developed by Polymun are widely used by the scientific community for research and described in many publications. In addition their unique neutralization properties, consistent quality, high purity and absence of protein additives make them valuable tools in obtaining more reliable research results,” commented Charles Kelly, EMPRO Project Coordinator and Professor at King’s College London. “That’s why we have high hopes for the results of the phase one clinical trial and that it will prove the first step in the speedy development of an effective formulation.”
The antibodies have been designed to guide the immune system’s defences towards their target by:
- directly eliminating invading agents (e.g. in mucosal surfaces)
- neutralizing infectious agents by blocking essential steps in the infective process
- activation of sterilizing immune functions (e.g. via the complement system or cytotoxic cells).
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About EMPRO
EMPRO – the European Microbicides Project – was launched in early 2004 and will run for five years. EMPRO is funded by the European Commission as a “Life Science Health” thematic priority under the Sixth Framework Programme.
EMPRO is an international research network of 27 partners located throughout Europe and Africa; its members are universities, research institutes and SMEs with the skills and know-how needed to discover and develop new drugs in all areas, including clinical trials. The project and all its partners are coordinated and led by King’s College London in the United Kingdom.
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APPEAR is a pilot communication action - funded by the European Union as a Specific Support Action under the FP6 thematic priority "Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health" - to raise public perception of European medical research. APPEAR supports four medical research projects with customized professional communication strategies, including PR production and audiovisual content distribution.
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