Drug Discovery Opinion

AMD-3100

A drug which failed to reach the market as a treatment for HIV/AIDS has recently been shown to improve the survival of mice infected with West Nile virus, a virus that can cause encephalitis. It is believed that the drug, AMD-3100, acts by allowing T-cells to cross the blood-brain barrier and combat virus infecting the brain.

The drug works by blocking the receptor for the chemokine, CXCR4, and was originally developed to prevent the syncytium-forming variant of HIV using this receptor to gain entry to cells. Clinical trials, however, failed to show robust anti-viral activity.

The CXCR4 receptor and its physiological ligand, SDF-1, are also involved in mobilisation of hematopoietic stem cells into the bloodstream. Genzyme has recently filed applications in the US and Europe for AMD-3100 (Mozobil™, plerixafor) to enhance mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells for collection and subsequent autologous transplantation in patients with lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Because patients receive high-dose chemotherapy, which destroys bone marrow, a stem cell transplant is needed after chemotherapy to replenish blood-forming bone marrow cells. Genzyme has been developing Mozobil since its acquisition of AnorMED in 2006.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Related posts:

1. Boost for Stem Cells A new discovery increases the likelihood that treatments could eventually boost specific subtypes of stem cells, and promote self healing...
2. Arrestin’ Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is the result of an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation in the constant matrix remodelling process that...
3. MS Drug Could Also Fight Viral Infections A drug that is being developed to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) by damping down the immune system may also have...
4. Cell Receptor for HCMV Entry Identified Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a member of the Herpes virus family and infects 50-80% of adults in the US. After...
5. Cannabinoids – Are They a Pain? Many groups developing cannabinoid receptor agonists for the treatment of pain have sought to identify selective CB2 receptor agonists to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

 Email This Post

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 8:49 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.