ViroStatics Establishes Scientific Advisory Board for HIV Development Program

SASSARI, Italy & PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ViroStatics, srl, a privately-held pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of combination therapeutics in HIV/AIDS, virology, and other chronic diseases, today announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Chaired by Daniel Kuritzkes, MD, Director of AIDS Research, Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, the Board will provide the Company with valuable assistance in determining and managing the scientific mission as well as the prioritization and operation of its scientific and clinical activities.

“Our Scientific Advisory Board is composed of six internationally renowned experts in the fields of clinical research, pharmacology, and immunology”

“Our Scientific Advisory Board is composed of six internationally renowned experts in the fields of clinical research, pharmacology, and immunology,” said Franco Lori, MD, President and CEO of Virostatics. “Each of them has made significant contributions to the scientific understanding of HIV/AIDS. We are confident that our Board members will provide ViroStatics with important insight and guidance as we continue the Phase II development of our lead combination product in HIV, VS411, as well as continuing our aggressive screening of new compounds to combat the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.”

The members of the Virostatics SAB are:

Daniel R. Kuritzkes, MD

Scientific Advisory Board Chairman

Daniel R. Kuritzkes, MD is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of AIDS Research, Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. He is Head of the Section of Retroviral Therapeutics for the Harvard Division of AIDS. Dr. Kuritzkes also serves as Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and is the Principal Investigator of the Harvard Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Unit.

Charles Flexner, MD

Charles Flexner, MD is Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Clinical Pharmacology and Infectious Diseases, and Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. In addition, Dr. Flexner is Professor of International Health (Bloomberg School of Public Health) and Principal Investigator for the Johns Hopkins University AIDS Clinical Trials Unit.

Roy M. Gulick, MD, MPH

Roy "Trip" Gulick, MD, MPH, is Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York and Director of the Cornell HIV Clinical Trials Unit. He also is a Board Member of the International AIDS Society-USA, and a member of the Panel on Clinical Practices for Treatment of HIV Infection of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Within the ACTG, he chairs the Steering Committee of the Optimization of Antiretroviral Therapy Committee.

Michael M. Lederman, MD

Michael M. Lederman, MD is the Scott R. Inkley Professor of Medicine and Professor of Molecular Biology/Microbiology, Pathology and Biomedical Ethics at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland where he is director of the Center for AIDS Research. He is a member of the American Association of Immunologists, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the HIV Medicine Association.

Guido Silvestri, MD

Guido Silvestri, MD is an Associate Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also serves as Director of Clinical Virology. Dr. Silvestri directs an NIH-funded research laboratory that conducts studies of AIDS pathogenesis and vaccines. Dr. Silvestri's work has elucidated the mechanisms by which SIV infection of natural hosts is not followed by progression to AIDS, thus providing important insights on how HIV infection causes immunodeficiency in humans.

Mark A. Wainberg, PhD

Dr. Mark A. Wainberg is Director of the McGill University AIDS Centre and Professor of Medicine and of Microbiology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Wainberg, an internationally recognized scientist in the field of HIV/AIDS, has made many contributions to the study of the reverse transcriptase of HIV-1 in regard to basic mechanisms of action, inhibition by anti-viral drugs, drug resistance, and HIV replication. He served as President of the International AIDS Society between 1998 and 2000 and was Co-Chair of the XVI International AIDS Conference in 2006.

About Virostatics

Virostatics srl, an Italian pharmaceutical company with operations in Sassari and Pavia, Italy and Princeton, NJ, is committed to discovering and developing novel combination therapeutics to address significant medical needs in HIV/AIDS, chronic infections and related fields. The company is developing its lead product, VS411, as a fixed-dose combination of two drugs to not only decrease HIV replication but to also protect and conserve the immune system. VS411 has completed Phase I and is moving into a multinational Phase II development program. Virostatics has developed a proprietary screening methodology to rapidly and efficiently identify cytostatic agents with potential to control the over-stimulation of the immune system that is believed to drive the progression of HIV to AIDS. Virostatics is committed to expanding its pipeline and product portfolio by in-licensing early- and late-stage compounds and exploring co-development opportunities that fit the Company's expertise in specialty pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals in HIV/AIDS. For more information, visit virostatics.com.