A drug developed at the University of Rochester Medical Center could mean people with HIV might need treatment only twice a year…instead of taking daily drug “cocktails” to keep AIDS at bay.
An article published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Investigation says the drug appears to extend the effectiveness of HIV therapies by taking the brakes off a cell’s protective mechanism. The HIV is so tough to knock out because it’s able to turn off that mechanism, a process called “autophagy” that gets rid of a cell’s trash, including invading viruses.
The drug URMC-099 appears to stop HIV from shutting down autophagy. Standard anti-retroviral drugs can then leave cells free of the HIV for long periods of time.
Dr. Harris Gelbard, Director of the UR’s Center for Neural
Development and Disease, says this could eliminate the burden of daily treatment and help people better manage the disease.
The ultimate goal is a vaccine that stops HIV infection cold, but researchers say it’s still many years away. A URMC-099-based therapy could be on the market within five years.