RetroVirox, Inc. Awarded National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant to Develop Novel Inhibitors of HIV Entry

Published: Mar 03, 2009

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - March 03, 2009) -

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RetroVirox, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops novel drugs for the treatment of HIV and other major human pathogens, today announced that it has been awarded a $218,374 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This one-year Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant will fund the development of novel HIV entry drugs that overcome limitations of current therapies. "We are pleased to receive support from the NIH," commented Juan Lama, Ph. D., Retrovirox founder CEO, "this award will allow us to advance efforts to develop novel HIV inhibitors. Unlike other virus entry blockers, these inhibitors are efficient against all HIV strains tested. RetroVirox inhibitors represent an entirely new class of antiretrovirals that block HIV replication through a novel mechanism. Our company is approaching similar strategies to develop treatments for other several important human pathogens, including HCV."

The NIH SBIR grant mechanism is a peer-reviewed program that provides research support to discover and develop innovative biomedical products for the treatment of unmet medical needs. An estimated 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, the causative agent of AIDS. HIV remains the single infectious agent killing the most people worldwide. In 2007, an estimated 2 million AIDS-related deaths occurred.

About RetroVirox

RetroVirox, Inc. is a privately held company with headquarters in San Diego, California. RetroVirox aims to develop novel drugs to treat some of the most challenging human pathogens, including HIV and HCV. The company utilizes unconventional approaches to block viral entry targeting novel mechanisms that may lead to the discovery of first-in-class anti-viral drugs.