Company says Remune delays HIV treatment failure

Biotechnology company Immune Response reports that data from two Phase II clinical trials of its anti-HIV drug Remune show that the compound delays virological failure in HIV-positive adults taking other anti-HIV drugs. Remune was previously tested as an HIV vaccine, but results show it failed to prevent HIV infections. Studies of the compound for use as part of an antiretroviral drug regimen to control HIV infection, however, show that Remune may be useful in combination therapy. One of the current trials involves 39 HIV-positive patients in Spain who added Remune to their anti-HIV drug cocktails. Patients who received Remune were significantly less likely to have a viral load higher than 55,000 copies after 48 weeks of treatment than those who received a placebo. A separate trial of 51 HIV-positive adults in Italy showed that study subjects given three injections of Remune over the course of 28 weeks had stable or rising CD4-cell counts, compared with those who received a placebo and experienced falling CD4-cell counts. Additional studies are planned.