New HIV drug prevents infection in monkeys
Feb-19-2015

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute say a newly developed drug designed to combat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is strong enough to work as a vaccine.

The anti-HIV agent, eCD4-Ig, has been tested on macaque monkeys who when vaccinated with the drug were able to withstand heavy, repeated doses the animal version of the AIDS virus called SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus). In lab tests, the drug was able to block every strain of HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIV.

The drug's promise was detailed this week in the journal Nature -- the culmination of several years of research by a dozen scientific institutions.

"This is the culmination of more than a decade's worth of work on the biochemistry of how HIV enters cells," Michael Farzan, a professor at the Scripps Research Institute who led the research efforts there, explained in a press release.

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