CytoDyn sees study of leronlimab preventing Simian Human Immunodeficiency virus published in scientific journal

CytoDyn Inc (OTCQB:CYDY) announced that the scientific journal Nature Communications published a study showing that leronlimab prevented nonhuman primates from being infected with Simian Human Immunodeficiency virus (SHIV), a monkey-human chimeric form of HIV.  The results will inform a future human clinical trial evaluating leronlimab as a potential pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, therapy to prevent human infection from the virus that causes AIDS, the company said.  “Our study findings indicate leronlimab could be a new weapon against the HIV epidemic,” co-author and lead researcher Jonah Sacha said. Sacha is a professor at Oregon Health & Science University’s Oregon National Primate Center and Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute. He receives compensation as a consultant to CytoDyn and an annual stock option as a member of the company’s scientific advisory board, the company said.  READ: CytoDyn wins first buy order from Chiral Pharma for using leronlimab for COVID-19 patients in the Philippines “The results of this pre-clinical study, targeting the HIV co-receptor CCR5, have the potential to be ground-breaking as we essentially have a tool that can mimic the genetic mutations of CCR5 that render some individuals immune to infection and have led in part to two cases of a cure of HIV,” Lishomwa Ndhlovu, the other co-author and a professor of immunology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. Ndhlovu also receives an annual stock option as a member of the scientific advisory board. The report, titled, “Antibody-based CCR5 Blockade Protects Macaques from Mucosal SHIV Transmission” can be found here. "We are very thankful to Drs. Sacha and Ndhlovu for their contributions to this important study and very much look forward to the future PrEP trial to prevent human infection of the AIDs virus,” CytoDyn CEO Nader Pourhassan said.  “PrEP drugs currently available can lead to adverse side effects such as kidney and bone problems, side effects we have not seen with leronlimab. The potential use of leronlimab in multiple therapeutic indications is exciting (ie, HIV, NASH, cancer, COVID-19). The company is continuing to advance these opportunities as quickly as possible, including assessing the most cost-effective location to perform its clinical trials, especially considering its new international partners. I am so grateful to work with colleagues who share our vision and dedication to bring leronlimab to market.” Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel