Well full credit to Biotron actually publishing data, unlike a...

Well full credit to Biotron actually publishing data, unlike a great number of other biotechs much discussed on HotCopper. A few issues however: AIDS Research and Therapy is not exactly a high impact HIV journal, which might suggest the HIV research community is not especially impressed with the results (hence not being published in AIDS, HIV Medicine, Journal of AIDS etc). Also, cell culture results are not necessarily at all transferable to an in vivo system. Also, much like with HCV, although BIT225 does appear to provide some inhibition of HIV release from various cell types, the effect is relatively weak (1 log virus reduction or less) which on its own would be clinically insignificant, and therefore would mandate the use of other drugs in combination (interactions, side effects, complicated dosing regimens...). More potent drugs with good patient tolerability would likely completely bypass the likes of BIT225, and don't imagine there aren't a hundred other drugs targeting various parts of the HIV life cycle in development right now. So although Biotron is the holder of intellectual property of some interest, the ability to actual monetise it is still quite unclear. It is quite possible that shareholders are funding a lot of interesting research with zero commercial future.