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 News
- November 16, 2006
The
Frost & Sullivan 2006 Technology Innovation Award in the
field of HIV drug development goes to Samaritan Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. in recognition of the company's effort in developing
the antiviral therapy based drug, SP01A. This drug is the
result of the company' s research on the relation of cortisol
to the treatment of HIV with its mode of action being an entry-level
inhibitor. Notably, this therapeutic treatment offers respite
as a drug that does not develop resistance along with ensuring
safety and tolerance levels while delivering the required
action.
There
have been tremendous advancements in recent years in the field
of antiretroviral therapy. Resistance to drugs developed by
the HIV virus's ability to mutate them poses a significant
problem for the drugs that are already in use and also for
those in the pipeline. The effective treatment of HIV-infected
patients is compromised by the toxicity of approved regimens,
conferred resistance, and cross-resistance.
The
HIV therapy market has to cater to a whopping 42 million people
or more HIV-positive patients worldwide. Developed nations
address this issue with the potent combination antiretroviral
(ARV) therapy that has remarkably reduced HIV-related mortality.
The concern now is the growing body of evidence of the emergence
of resistance to ARV drugs and the relative toxicity of commonly
administered ARVs. This is of grievous concern in developing
countries where 95% of all people with HIV can be found. The
fact is that no antiretroviral drug is actually resistance-free.
The
resistance develops naturally over time because of the selective
pressure exerted by the drugs or the immune system. Drug resistance
is often the result of the replication not being fully controlled.
This leads to the spread of the resistant strain of the virus
that directly affects the therapy that is applied. Transmission
is often a concern where ARV is widely practiced.
Samaritan's
HIV therapeutics has demonstrated significant promise in addressing
these issues that offers viable solution to an otherwise impending
global pandemic. Samaritan's novel HIV therapeutics has been
identified as belonging to a new class of HIV antiviral drugs
called "entry inhibitors." The lead drug candidate
of the HIV drug development program is SP01A.
Samaritan
scientists observed correlations between cortisol levels in
HIV-infected patients and the progression of their disease
to autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The hypothesis
that they arrived at was that HIV-associated dysregulation
of cortisol levels may have connections in the pathophysiology
and modulation of cell-mediated immunity. Hence, the decision
was made to design the treatment based on a cortisol-modulating
agent that improves the immune function in HIV-positive individuals.
Reports
from preclinical studies suggest that there is a modification
of the cholesterol content of the host cell membrane due to
SP01A's effect on cholesterol synthesis. This exerts a control
over the replication process as the HIV-1 virus finds it difficult
to enter and infect the cell. These observations were further
supported during phase I/II clinical trials in which SP01A
was administered to HIV-infected individuals who were currently
on stable, approved antiretroviral therapies.
In
comparison to other available therapies, Samaritan's therapies
do not target the virus or threaten to alter the integrity
of the virus as a whole or its envelope. Hence, the concerns
associated with the drug developing resistance either over
a period of time or with treatment-naïve HIV-positive
individuals. The lack of toxicity observed in their oral HIV
drugs suggests that patients will not experience treatment
compliance problems due to their inability to tolerate the
drugs. This drug would come across as one that eliminates
side effects and noncompliance issues, and, hence, has a cutting
edge over the other antiretroviral therapies. This seems to
a better mode of prevention as it stops the HIV virus from
invading healthy cells rather than attacking the virus, when
it has already established itself in the cell. Samaritan's
drugs have also exhibited maximum viral load suppression while
aiming to provide improved quality of life for patients.
Samaritan's
HIV therapeutics are uniquely different from other entry inhibitors
in that they appear to condition the
cell and modulate cholesterol levels in membrane rafts, thereby
eliminating the platform by which the HIV virus
initiates its fusion. In addition, the drug's ability to block
the expression at the plasma membrane of both the CCR5 and
CXCR4 co-receptors gives it an added advantage as the blockade
presented by the therapeutics does not depend on targeting
mutation-prone viral proteins or proteins on potentially susceptible
T-cells. Therefore, Samaritan's HIV therapeutics appears to
be equally effective against all HIV mutant strains as well
as the "wild-type" viruses.
The
drug can be used for treatment-naïve HIV-infected patients;
in patients who have previously received the treatment and
who have minimal viral load and are on stable regimens; and
also in those who have experienced resistance to drugs attributed
to mutations.
In
summary, the Frost & Sullivan 2006 Technology Innovation
Award recognizes Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for its development
of a novel-therapy solution targeting HIV. This solution incorporates
a unique entry-level inhibitor that does not confer resistance
or cross-resistance while ensuring patient safety and exhibiting
high potent inhibition toward HIV.
About
Best Practices:
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies
in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating
outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas
such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service,
and strategic product development. Industry analysts
compare market participants and measure performance through
in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research
in order to identify best practices in the industry.
About
Frost & Sullivan:
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company,
has been partnering with clients to support the development
of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's
industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership
services, and corporate management training to identify and
develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive
clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies,
and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry
coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines
ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and
demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.
| Award
Description |
Research
Methodology |
Measurement
Criteria |
Frost
& Sullivan's Technology Innovation Award is bestowed
upon a company (or individual) that has carried out
new research, which has resulted in innovation(s) that
have or are expected to bring significant contributions
to the industry in terms of adoption, change, and competitive
posture. This award recognizes the quality and depth
of a company's research and development program as well
as the vision and risk-taking that enabled it to undertake
such an endeavor. |
To
choose the award recipient, Frost & Sullivan's analyst
team tracks innovation in key hi-tech markets. The selection
process includes primary participant interviews and
extensive primary and secondary research via the bottom-up
approach. The analyst team shortlists candidates on
the basis of a set of qualitative and quantitative measurements.
The analysts also consider the pace of research and
technology innovation, and the significance or potential
relevance of the innovation to the overall industry.
The ultimate award recipient is chosen after a thorough
evaluation of this research. |
In
addition to the methodology described above, there are
specific criteria used to determine the final rankings.
The recipient of this award has excelled based on one
or more of the following criteria:
- Significance
of the innovation(s) in the industry, and across industries
(if applicable)
- Potential
of the products of innovation(s) to become industry
standard(s)
- Competitive
advantage of innovation vis-à-vis other related
innovations
- Impact
(or potential impact) of innovation(s) on company
or industry mind share and/or company bottom line
- Breadth
of intellectual property related to the innovation(s),
that is, patents, scientific publications, papers
in peer-reviewed journals.
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