COTI Looking for Partner to Develop New Molecules that May Help to Inhibit HIV Integrase

Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. has announced that it is seeking a new pharmaceutical partner to continue the development of its novel scaffolds for inhibiting HIV-1 integrase, as part of a program with the potential to lead to a new drug therapy to help fight the HIV virus.

Identified using CHEMSAS®, COTI's drug discovery technology, the novel small molecule scaffolds used in the HIV-1 integrase inhibitor program have shown encouraging results during recent testing in the Company's co-development program with a major pharmaceutical company.

This agreement has now concluded as the partner has advised they will be suspending all new HIV-related work that is not already in an advanced stage in the clinic.

"We are very encouraged by the results of testing to date," said Dr. Wayne Danter, COTI's President and CEO. "We are pleased to be able to market the program to other interested pharmaceutical firms."

The significance of the results pertaining to these novel scaffolds is that the majority of HIV integrase inhibitors currently in development and marketed, interact and inhibit the enzyme in a very similar way (through a diketo acid type moiety).

The first three novel scaffolds in COTI's program have an entirely new binding and interaction with the active site of the viral enzyme.

These scaffolds have the potential to dramatically impact the market as their unique binding mode may be advantageous for patients who are resistant to the current class of HIV integrase inhibitors.

Dr. Danter also reported, "We are now in the process of finalizing several potential next generation HIV integrase inhibitor candidates based on our novel validated scaffolds."

These current testing results continue to validate the CHEMSAS® technology and demonstrate its capability to rapidly identify promising small molecules for difficult drug targets.