ViroStatics and Vichem Chemie Announce Strategic Partnership to Identify and Develop Kinase Inhibitors for the Treatment of HIV/AIDS and Other Chronic Diseases

SASSARI, Italy, PRINCETON, N.J. & BUDAPEST, Hungary--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 11, 2010 - ViroStatics, srl, an Italian-US biopharmaceutical company today announced the formation of a strategic partnership with Vichem Chemie of Budapest, Hungary to identify, synthesize, screen, and develop the next generation of AntiViral-HyperActivation Limiting Therapeutics (AV-HALTs) for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases.

Vichem Chemie is a Hungarian biotech research company focusing upon the field of kinase inhibitors, one of the fastest growing segments within the pharmaceutical industry with applications in oncology, autoimmune diseases and other unmet medical needs. ViroStatics has brought the first-in-class AV-HALT, VS411, into Phase II development. AV-HALTS are a new class of drugs that combine direct anti-viral activity with a reduction in the chronically elevated immune system activation that is now known to play a major role in the progression of HIV disease, ultimately leading to AIDS.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with Vichem Chemie to discover valuable new AV-HALT drugs,” explained Franco Lori, MD, President and CEO of ViroStatics. “Vichem's expertise, know-how and credibility in the area of in vitro discovery of novel drug families are well-known. Our new partnership brings together both companies' substantial intellectual properties and significant libraries of Kinase Inhibitors."

“The expertise of ViroStatics in translating basic discoveries into clinical applications -from the bench to the bed side – is well appreciated,” added Gyorgy Keri, PhD and CEO of Vichem Chemie. “The Companies' strengths are both complimentary and synergistic. We look forward to a successful partnership to identify new and exciting compounds that ViroStatics will develop into important new therapies against HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases.”

“The new class of AV-HALTs represents a novel approach to the treatment of HIV based upon the most recent discoveries in the field of viral pathogenesis,” said Richard B. Pollard, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California Davis Health System. “ViroStatics was the first to achieve Proof-of-Principle for the AV-HALTs with the two-drug combination product, VS411. The collaboration between ViroStatics and Vichem Chemie is expected to lead to the second generation of AV-HALTs where both antiviral activity and reduction of excessive immune activation are combined in a single molecule.”