A potential cure for HIV from American Gene Technologies (AGT) has been given the go-ahead for
the first phase of human trials starting in September. Corey Edwards reports.
The approval comes from the US Food and Drug Administration. AGT’s chief science officer David Pauza has called these phase one trials “momentous” and said: “We are beyond excited to reach this milestone.”
He added that based on the commercial runs of the product this therapy has “a high potential to be effective.”This possible cure is a drug that works by inserting lentivirus genes that are linked to HIV into the body.
These genes repair the immune system damage caused by HIV and help the body develop cells that fight the virus naturally in an 11-day process. Phase one of the trials will study the safety of the drug. Jeff Galvin, the CEO, and founder of AGT said he is “confident” this will be an important step in finding the cure of HIV.
HIV is commonly mistaken to only affect gay men, but this is not true. Figures suggest that over 38 million people were living with HIV worldwide last year, including nearly two million children. Treatments for the virus exist but there is no approved cure yet. The initial trials will take place in the US states of Maryland, Baltimore, and Washington, DC next month. AGT hope to report their findings before the end of the year.
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