A treatment that would “functionally cure” HIV might be on the horizon. The single-dose treatment will soon begin human trials.
Excision Biotherapeutics was approved to start testing the new treatment by the Food and Drug Administration back in September. The treatment, known as EBT-101, will be given to volunteers with HIV.
The technology uses gene editing to cut out pieces of human DNA, which should keep the HIV genome from mutating in the body. Researchers have had previous success in trials carried out on non-human primates and lab-isolated human cells.
“If you just make a single cut, the virus can mutate around it,” said Excision CEO Daniel Dornbusch to Fierce Biotech. “We make multiple cuts to deactivate the viral genome.”
Participants will receive a single dose that will be administered through IV over one or two hours. The volunteers would remain on antiretrovirals for three months after beginning the trial, and after three months, they will stop ART. Treating physicians will monitor them for relapse or rebound.
The trial’s goal is to demonstrate safety at all dose levels and whether or not subjects remain HIV negative.
People reports that Johnson & Johnson and Moderna are also running human trials on HIV vaccines. However, J&J’s vaccine failed the first round of its trial. It reduced the risk of infection by about 25.2 percent, falling short of its 50 percent goal.
Discover more from Baller Alert
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
