Profectus BioSciences, Inc. Receives NIH Grant to Enhance Future Anti-HIV Therapies

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops preventative and therapeutic technologies to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by viral diseases, today announced the award of an approximately $200,000 Phase 1 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. The focus of the grant is to develop more effective anti-HIV antibodies based on Profectus Biosciences’ proprietary Antiviral Immune Modulation (AIM) therapy technology, in collaboration with the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland.

This is the second Phase 1 SBIR grant awarded to Profectus BioSciences in the past month.

This Profectus BioSciences technology uses immune modulation drugs such as Rapamycin to improve the activity of antiviral antibodies. Joseph F. Berardino, Profectus BioSciences Chairman and CEO commented, “This award will accelerate our efforts to improve the utility of anti-HIV antibodies. We believe that AIM therapy combinations can improve patient outcomes by providing less frequent dosing with fewer side effects, and by slowing or preventing drug-resistant viruses that can drive treatment failure. Such an approach may also provide treatment options that permit intervention soon after infection.”

The technology was first developed in the laboratory of Robert Redfield, M.D., a clinical investigator at the Institute of Human Virology. The grant will help support one component of Profectus BioSciences’ research efforts to identify combinations of antivirals and immune modulators that can be used for HIV therapy.

Profectus BioSciences, Inc. began operations in early 2005 to develop and commercialize technologies to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by human viral diseases, including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of AIDS. The company’s name, Profectus, translated from its Latin roots, means “to advance or improve,” thus capturing its approach to adding value to existing products or products under development from the leading global pharmaceutical companies. The company applies its specific scientific expertise to help commercialize new or repositioned drugs used for human and animal health.