A New in Vitro Assay for Evaluating Anti-viral Drug Activity
Abstract (Set) JHU scientists have developed an efficient in vitro single-round virus infectivity assay with a high correlation to clinical outcomes of drug treatment. This reporter virus assay is an accurate, fast way to screen and evaluate anti-viral drugs including anti-HIV therapeutics. Anti-viral drug activity is quantified using multiple pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic parameters to produce a new sensitive measure of antiviral drug activity known as the Instantaneous Inhibitory Potential (IIP). At present, in vitro anti-viral agent screening assays are routinely performed using established cell lines and often require multiple rounds of cell growth and viral infection to determine if an agent is useful as an antiviral therapeutic. This flexible assay can be performed in a single round of infectivity on primary cells including HIV-l target cells. Assay results are more rapidly available and are more relevant to clinical outcomes of anti-viral drug treatment. Rapid, accurate identification of agents that can maximally suppress viral replication is critical for treatment of viral infections such as HIV, in order to avoid administering suboptimal drugs that allow evolution of drug resistance and rebound viremia. This technology is an advancement over current drug screening assays and evaluations because accurate results can be obtained quickly using an in vitro assay with clinically relevant primary cells potentially obtained from a specific patient. Description (Set) Proposed Use (Set) This technology can be commercialized as an assay for anti-viral drug screening including assays for activity of antiviral drug combinations. IIP may become a standard measure of antiviral drug activity for HIV-I infected patients in particular. The technology will also be useful to evaluate antiviral drug activity for viruses from individual patients and to evaluate antiviral activity of neutralizing antibodies.Inventor(s): Siliciano, Robert ,McMahon, Moira,Shen, Lin
Type of Offer: Licensing
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