NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P
Capital IQ (MHFI) announced today that it has commenced Factual
Stock Report coverage on CytoDyn Inc.
CytoDyn Inc. (CYDY) is developing a class of therapeutic
monoclonal antibodies to address significant unmet medical needs in
the areas of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The company's lead product candidate,
PRO 140, belongs to a class of HIV therapies known as entry
inhibitors. These therapies potentially block HIV from entering
into and infecting certain cells. Although CytoDyn intends to focus
its efforts on PRO 140, the company also holds certain rights in
two proprietary platform technologies: Cytolin, a monoclonal
antibody targeting HIV with a mechanism of action which may prove
to be synergistic to that of PRO 140 and other treatments; and
CytoFeline, a monoclonal antibody targeting Feline Immunodeficiency
Virus (FIV).
The company believes the PRO 140 antibody shows promise as a
powerful anti-viral agent while not being a drug, which means fewer
side effects and less frequent dosing requirements as compared to
daily drug therapies currently in use. PRO 140 blocks HIV from
entering a cell by binding to a molecule called CCR5, a normal cell
surface receptor protein to which HIV attaches as part of HIV's
entry into a cell.
The company notes that PRO 140 is an antibody and not a drug,
and that through preliminary, short-term trials it has demonstrated
efficacy without issues relating to toxicity and autoimmune
resistance. Moreover, these trials suggested that PRO 140 does not
affect the normal function of the CCR5 receptor. Instead, PRO 140
binds to a precise site on CCR5 that HIV uses to enter the cell
and, in doing so, inhibits the ability of HIV to infect the cell
without affecting the cell's normal function.
In furtherance of its business strategy, the company has entered
into a manufacturing agreement with a contract manufacturing
organization to initiate preparations for the potential future
manufacturing of additional PRO 140.
CytoDyn believes that PRO 140 has demonstrated potent (as
compared to existing treatments) antiretroviral activity and an
encouraging safety profile in prior clinical testing, that PRO 140
has the potential to be the first long-acting (weekly or every
other week), self-administered HIV therapy, and that PRO 140 may
inhibit CCR5-tropic HIV while preserving CCR5's natural activity.
PRO 140 also appears to broadly inhibit drug-resistant CCR5-tropic
HIV viruses, including one resistant to small-molecule anti-CCR5
HIV therapies. The company notes that PRO 140 has no effect on
strains of HIV that enter through the CXCR4 cell portal. Overall,
CytoDyn believes that PRO 140 represents a distinct class of CCR5
inhibitors with unique virological and immunological properties and
may provide another distinct tool to treat HIV-infected
subjects.
As of July 2014, PRO 140 was being
studied in three clinical trials.
CytoDyn Inc. is based in Vancouver,
Washington.
S&P Capital IQ's Factual Stock Report coverage on CytoDyn
Inc will also be accessible on an ongoing basis to the investment
community by scores of buy-side institutions and sell-side firms
that utilize S&P Capital IQ research and information platforms
daily. Millions of self-directed investors also have access to the
report via their e-brokerage accounts. Please visit
http://www.cytodyn.com/ for additional information.
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SOURCE S&P Capital IQ