A new study to test the HIV-infection-blocking drug SPC-3 will start this month at Roger Williams Medical Center.
This is the first U.S. trial of SPC-3. The drug was recently tested in a small number of HIV-infected people in Europe, where it caused few side effects.
In lab tests, SPC-3 blocks the spread of infection to various cell types by many different HIV strains, including those resistant to the often-prescribed AIDS-drug AZT.
The lab tests suggest that SPC-3 blocks infection by binding to a co-receptor, one of two proteins on a cell that must be present for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to enter and establish infection. SPC-3 mimics the part of HIV that may attach to a co-receptor. Because SPC-3 binds to a cell, and not the virus, resistance to the drug is not likely to develop during therapy.
"Only in the past few months has information been published that identifies the co-receptors required for HIV infection," says Dr. Gail Skowron, the study's principal investigator. "This advance in knowledge affords us new targets for therapy of HIV-infected individuals."
Skowron directs the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at Roger Williams Medical Center and is associate director and clinical trial coordinator of the Brown University AIDS Program
The 20 participants in the study at Roger Williams Medical Center will receive an SPC-3 injection daily for three weeks. Researchers will measure the level of virus and immune function in each participant, as well as monitor for side effects. Once researchers determine a safe, effective dose for SPC-3, the drug will be tested on a larger group of people.
SPC-3 is being developed by Columbia Laboratories Inc. (The firm has no connection to Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation, which recently signed a letter of intent to acquire Roger Williams Medical Center.)
For more information on qualifying for the study, call 456-2437.