FOX CHASE CHEMICAL DIVERSITY CENTER INC. — Department of Health and Human Services STTR Phase I: DESCRIPTION: While HIV/AIDS can be managed with antiretroviral drugs that block viral repl
FOX CHASE CHEMICAL DIVERSITY CENTER INC. — STTR Phase I award from Department of Health and Human Services.
- Amount
- $225,000
- Agency
- Department of Health and Human Services · National Institutes of Health
- Program / Phase
- STTR · Phase I
- Solicitation
- PA13-235
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- PA
- Period
- —
Description
DESCRIPTION: While HIV/AIDS can be managed with antiretroviral drugs that block viral replication, these agents do not clear the virus and require life-long drug administration with associated risks of cumulative toxicity and drug resistance. Recently, wediscovered a completely new class of compounds that interfere with the HIV-1 virulence factor, Nef. This viral protein is critical to HIV-1 replication in vivo, immune escape of HIV-infected cells, and AIDS progression. Nef antagonists have the potential to synergize with current antiretroviral drugs, thereby reducing toxicities and the risk of drug resistance. Nef inhibitors may also restore immune recognition of HIV-infected cells, potentially clearing the virus. Our lead Nef inhibitors are based on a diphenylpyrazolodiazene (DPP) scaffold that binds directly to the HIV-1 Nef protein and blocks its myriad functions in vitro. The goal of this Phase I STTR grant application, therefore, is to exploit our discovery of novel HIV Nef inhibitors through the