virax going banana, page-10

positive article in smh and afr Virax scores points for HIV drug's test results
By Sue Cant
October 17, 2003

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Shares in biotechnology company Virax leapt 5.5c to close at 32c yesterday after positive results from a clinical trial of its HIV treatment.

Turnover hit 5.4 million shares compared with average volume of about 860,000.

The company is working on an immune-system treatment to help reduce patients' reliance on other HIV drugs with serious side effects.

David Cooper, director of the Australian National Centre for HIV Epidemiology, which ran the trial, said he believed it would be of "special interest" to the international HIV/AIDS medical community.

"This latest data provides a promising preliminary indication which merits further development," Professor Cooper said.

The phase IIa pilot study measured the viral load, or level of HIV in the patients, to establish the effectiveness of the drug VIR201.

Professor Cooper said the study showed that the drug offered better control of HIV levels.

"Control or suppression of the HIV virus is the critical factor in the treatment of HIV/AIDS," he said.


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Current anti-retroviral therapies had serious side effects and effective immune-system therapies were needed to reduce patients' reliance on anti-retroviral drugs.

Virax chief executive officer David Beames said the study should boost investors' confidence in the company's drug development program, which has been running for seven years.

Virax funds early stage clinical development of medical research into immune-system treatments for prostate cancer and hepatitis B and other infectious diseases.

Trials of the treatments for prostate cancer and hepatitis B are due to start soon.