AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Drug discovery and development company SCYNEXIS, Inc. presented 2 studies indicating that oral treatment SCY-635 induces the production of interferon in HCV infected patients at the 48th annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
In an oral presentation, Dr. Koichi Watashi, Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, reported results of the study, Potentiate Interferon Signaling Through Diminished PKR Phosphorylation in HCV-Infected Cells, at the Translational Research in HCV session on Thursday, April 25 from 4 to 6 p.m.
The study examined the effect of cyclophilin inhibitors on the interferon (IFN) signaling pathway using an HCV-infected cell culture system. Results of this study suggest that cyclophilin inhibitors release the negative regulation of interferon stimulated genes (ISG) and allow their translation in HCV-infected cells. This mechanism contributes to the anti-HCV activity of cyclophilin inhibitors, in addition to the direct suppression of HCV replication.
The poster presentation, entitled The Cyclophilin Inhibitor SCY-635 Restores the Innate Recognition of HCV by Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) from HCV-Infected Subjects, was presented by Peter Probst, SCYNEXIS, in the session on Hepatitis research and will be displayed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m on Saturday, April 27.
The study evaluated the ability of SCY-635 to modulate the innate immune response to HCV of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from study subjects with HCV. The data suggest that SCY-635 induces production of interferon by PBMC in a portion of HCV study subjects but has no stimulatory effect on PBMC from healthy controls. It also suggests that SCY-635 may induce and maintain an adaptive anti-HCV immune response by inhibiting the HCV-induced impairment of dendritic cells.
The full abstract for the oral presentation can be found here and the abstract for the poster presentation can be viewed here.
About HCV and Therapeutic Need
The World Health Organization estimates that about 3% of the world’s population is infected with HCV and that there are more than 170 million chronic carriers who are at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. While the majority of antiviral research remains focused on viral targets such as protease and polymerase enzymes, therapies such as SCY-635 that are based on immunomodulation to counteract viral immune evasion could be of great therapeutic value.
About SCY-635
SCY-635 is a novel oral cyclophilin inhibitor in Phase 2 studies for the treatment of Hepatitis C (HCV) and in preclinical studies for the treatment of Hepatitis B (HBV). Studies to date have demonstrated that SCY-635 is unique in that it plays a dual role as a synergistic Direct Acting Antiviral (DAA) and a stimulator of the host immune system (Immune Acting Antiviral or IAA). The addition of SCY-635 to the repertoire of currently approved HCV therapies could breathe new life into the future of the immunotherapeutic options for treating HCV.
About SCYNEXIS
SCYNEXIS delivers innovative solutions to solve the toughest problems in drug discovery and development for our pharmaceutical, global health, animal health and life science partners. Our contract research services include Integrated Pharmaceutical Solutions, Discovery Research and Integrated Parasitology. We have successfully delivered preclinical and clinical drug candidates to our customers across all major therapeutic indications and have developed our own proprietary cyclophilin inhibitor programs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including HCV, HBV and inflammation. Founded in 2000, SCYNEXIS is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Visit www.scynexis.com.
