Geron, TA Therapeutics' new data support use of small molecule telomerase activator in HIV/AIDS

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., May 15 - Geron Corp. and TA Therapeutics, Ltd. said studies demonstrate that their small molecule telomerase activator, TAT0002, enhances the antiviral activity of CD8 T-cells from HIV/AIDS donors against infected CD4 cells from the same donors.

The new research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists in Boston, according to a company news release.

During HIV disease progression, CD8 cytotoxic T-cells age, losing the ability to proliferate and kill HIV-infected CD4 T-cells. Geron said previous studies demonstrated that introducing the telomerase gene into CD8 cells from HIV/AIDS donors increased their ability to inhibit virus production and kill HIV-infected T-cells.

In the current study, expanded CD8 and HIV-infected CD4 T-cells from three HIV-positive donors were cultured together for 10 days at different CD8, CD4 ratios, with or without TAT0002.

The presence of TAT0002 during the expansion and co-culture periods significantly reduced the mean virus levels for all three donors.

"These results are important because they show that significant antiviral effects of TAT0002 are seen in cells from different HIV-infected persons in an autologous setting that more closely matches the context in which the drug will be used clinically," said Calvin B. Harley, Geron chief scientific officer and chair of TA Therapeutics' joint operating committee, in the release.

"It is also noteworthy that TAT0002 targets the uninfected CD8 T-cells, not the virus itself, so it should not be subject to resistance caused by mutational changes in HIV."

The companies plan to move TAT0002 through Investigational New Drug-enabling studies in preparation for a future phase 1/2 clinical trial in HIV/AIDS, officials said.

Geron is a Menlo Park, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical company.

TA Therapeutics is a joint venture between Geron and the Biotechnology Research Corp., a company established by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.