In its continuous efforts to improve and develop HIV treatments and cure strategies, First Health Pharmaceuticals is pleased to announce its participation in a new multi-center public-private partnership called Target2Cure, starting September 2019 and lasting three years.
Target2Cure consortium includes six high profile research groups from AUMC- Amsterdam University Medical Centre and four industrial partners which will put together their expertise and innovative approaches to investigate novel diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches and to contribute to the development of curative HIV strategies.
Main objective of the project is the characterization of the dormant HIV in latently-infected immune cells – the so-called HIV reservoir – and their removal with a combination of small molecules and antibodies.
The compounds of First Health Pharmaceuticals’ HIV pipeline and their potential to contrast HIV reservoirs formation and maintenance, such as DDX3 inhibitors will play an important role in the projects. The Antiviral DDX3 inhibitors have in fact the unique characteristics to contrast viral replication without any resistance issues and induce cell death such as representing a strategy to eradicate the virus.
Within the consortium not only we will identify innovative therapeutic approaches, but also ensure that the findings will be further developed clinically to achieve a cure for HIV.
This cooperation project is co-financed with a PPP (Public-private partnership) allowance that has been made available by Health ~ Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, to Aidsfonds to stimulate public-private partnerships.