Study of Gene Therapy Based on Leronlimab Cyto
Post# of 148126
CytoDyn Inc.
Mon, July 11, 2022 at 5:30 AM·7 min read
CytoDyn Inc.
CytoDyn Inc.
$5 Million Grant Awarded to OHSU for Preclinical Research of One-time Injection of Gene Therapy Based on Leronlimab for Functional Cure of HIV
VANCOUVER, Washington, July 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytoDyn Inc. (OTCQB: CYDY) (“CytoDyn” or the “Company”), a late-stage biotechnology company developing leronlimab, a CCR5 antagonist with the potential for multiple therapeutic indications, today announced a new, preclinical study in nonhuman primates that will evaluate the potential use in HIV of a gene therapy based on the experimental monoclonal antibody leronlimab.
The research will be led by Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researcher Jonah Sacha, Ph.D., who also serves as a CytoDyn scientific advisor. The study is funded by a five-year grant of up to $5 million to OHSU from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will fund the development and preclinical research of a single-injection gene therapy that codes for the leronlimab protein sequence and which will be delivered via an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector. The study will examine if this gene-therapy approach could provide the potential for “functional cure,” i.e., sustained viral suppression to people with HIV without requiring them to take medications for the rest of their lives.