Power of the Dream Ventures, a Hungarian company that acquires and develops technologies, recently declared Phase II test results by Genetic Immunity of its Lead Product called DermaVir, based on an earlier contract.
DermaVir, a dendritic cell-targeting HIV therapeutic vaccine, uses nanotechnology to increase the patient's immune system and destroy the HIV-infected cells. The therapy lowers antiretroviral drug exposure, and maintains untraceable HIV-RNA levels to achieve a functional cure in HIV patients.
A random, placebo-monitored, dose-ranging Phase II study was conducted in Hamburg, 36 HIV patients, not started on antiretroviral drugs, were administered one of three doses of DermaVir once in six weeks.
According to Jan van Lunzen at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Infectious Diseases Unit, all the patients responded to the treatment and the CD4+ cells also did not diminish.
The HIV loads were compared to individual baseline values at the end of 24 weeks. A reduction of 0.5 log10 copies/mL, which is equal to a 70% reduction produced by several anti-HIV drugs, was observed in the cohort that was being administered 0.4 mg DermaVir vaccinations. The immune enhancing and antiviral properties of the product could offer remedies to HIV/AIDS patients.
The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient is an individual plasmid DNA immunogen with 15 HIV antigens. DermaVir is a nanomedicine that resembles a pathogen and is given topically with DermaPrep. This technology directs the antigens to dendritic cells in order to increase the HIV-specific T cells in order to destroy cells infected with HIV. The vaccine is administered to HIV/AIDS patients in an endeavor to increase their immune system.