iCo Therapeutics has announced that on 26 November 2013, US patent 8,592,382 was issued for the Oral Amphotericin B platform (Oral AmpB) providing protection around oral delivery of the drug.
With the recent receipt of ethics approval, the Oral AmpB technology is also moving into in vitro testing with study partners in Montreal, and will examine the role of this formulation in targeting latent HIV reservoirs which remain in individuals despite enormous therapeutic advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Recruitment of eight HIV-infected subjects successfully treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with detectable latent viral reservoir is expected to be complete in the first half of 2014.
iCo Therapeutics president and CEO Andrew Rae noted the current use of Amphotericin B has been limited due to its historical kidney toxicity and intravenous delivery and yet it is a potent anti-fungal and anti-parasitic drug with potentially much broader application if side adverse effects are tamed.
"This Oral AmpB delivery platform and approach, developed by Dr. Kishor Wasan at the University of British Columbia, has the potential to reduce toxicity issues and move the drug beyond the acute care setting, as well as to additional indications," Rae added.
