SAN DIEGO, Nov. 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ciclofilin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Ciclofilin" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the development of broad spectrum antivirals, today announced that its abstract (#1927) entitled "CPI-431-32, a Novel Cyclophilin A Inhibitor, Simultaneously Blocks Replication of HCV and HIV-1 Viruses in a Novel in Vitro Co-infection Model" will be presented at The Liver Meeting, the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases ("AASLD"), being held November 7-11, 2014 in Boston, MA.
The abstract, authored by Philippe Gallay, Michael Bobardt, Daniel Trepanier, Daren Ure, Cosme Ordonez and Robert Foster, was selected by AASLD as a Presidential Poster of Distinction and will be presented on November 11 from 8:00AM until 12:00PM ET. The abstract can now be viewed at the AASLD website at www.aasld.org.
The Company's lead drug candidate, CPI-431-32, does not target the virus, but rather, targets the host. As such, CPI-431-32 renders the cells refractory to viral infection, and is efficacious not only against wild-type virus but also against mutated virus. Cyclophilin inhibitors are a class of compounds that are also truly pangenotypic - exhibiting equivalent efficacies across all genotypes. CPI-431-32 has shown antiviral activity against both HCV and HIV-1, and therefore may have utility in co-infected patients.
Dr. Foster, CEO of Ciclofilin, said, "Based on our understanding of structure-activity relationship emanating from decades of experience with macrocycles and our unique semi-synthetic chemistry, we believe our results may support "best in class" cyclophilin inhibition. We are looking forward to the future development of our lead drug, which has thus far demonstrated the potential to be useful in co-infected HCV/HIV-1 patients. We further expect the mechanism of action and drug characteristics of CPI-431-32 to drive our quest to find a broad spectrum antiviral."
About Ciclofilin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Ciclofilin is a life sciences company based in San Diego, California, with R&D facilities in Edmonton, Canada. The company's drug pipeline is uniquely designed to specifically target the host by rendering host cells resistant to viral infection. Unlike most other antivirals used in practice or in development, Ciclofilin's antivirals do not target the virus. By targeting the host and not the virus, Ciclofilin's lead drug is less susceptible to emerging resistance and is truly pangenotypic. Ciclofilin is developing a broad spectrum antiviral for the treatment of patients co-infected with hepatitis C ("HCV"), hepatitis B ("HBV") and HIV-1 viruses. Approximately 25% of HIV patients are co-infected with HCV. Co-infected patients progress at a faster rate to end-stage liver disease than mono-infected patients, and co-infection more than triples the risk of liver disease, liver failure, and liver-related death from HCV. End-stage liver disease (liver inflammation and fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma) is the main cause of death and hospitalization for HIV patients, and cyclophilin inhibitors, as a class, are known to exhibit antifibrotic properties, which may further amplify the benefits of this approach to treating viral infections. Ciclofilin is also testing for additional antiviral indications, including human papilloma virus ("HPV"), coronaviruses and others.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to the potential of our lead drug CPI-431-32 for the treatment of human viral diseases. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the significance of our preclinical results and potential applications of our compound for the treatment of co-infected patients. Statements that are not historical facts are based on our management's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and our management's beliefs and assumptions. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Ciclofilin undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as required by applicable law.