National Jewish Health And Ceragenix Announce Compound Shows Promise For Treating Potentially Lethal Viral Infections

Main Category: Eczema / Psoriasis
Also Included In: Dermatology;  Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 24 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.("Ceragenix") (OTCBB:CGXP), a medical device company focused on infectious disease and dermatology, announced that researchers at National Jewish Health, led by Dr. Donald Y. Leung and Dr. Michael Howell, in collaboration with Dr. Paul B. Savage of Brigham Young University, have demonstrated in a series of in vitro experiments and preclinical animal testing that an investigational drug compound known as CSA-13 shows promise as a potential therapy to treat viral infections from the vaccinia virus. The research appears ahead of print in an advanced online publication of the Journal of Investigate Dermatology, the official journal of the Society for Investigative Dermatology. This work was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Atopic Dermatitis Vaccinia Network.

Vaccinia virus infections are of concern as the current smallpox vaccine uses this live virus to inoculate persons against a potential bioterror smallpox attack. Use of the vaccine is contraindicated in persons who are immunocompromised and in persons who have or ever had atopic dermatitis (eczema) as those persons are at greater risk for developing serious and sometimes life-threatening complications related to vaccinia infections. It is estimated that over 40 million persons are at higher risk of serious side effects if widespread smallpox vaccination were to be implemented.

CSA-13 is a member of the Company's developmental Ceragenin™ class of compounds. Ceragenins are synthetic antimicrobial compounds designed to mimic the structure and function of endogenous antimicrobial peptides which form a key component of the body's innate immune system. In the recent publication, the authors show that CSA-13 exhibits potent antiviral activity against the vaccinia virus by (1) direct antiviral effects against vaccinia; and (2) stimulating the expression of endogenous antimicrobial peptides with known antiviral activity against vaccinia . In addition, the research shows that a topical application of CSA-13 penetrates the skin and reduces subsequent satellite lesion formation.

According to Dr. Leung: "In our current study, we demonstrate that CSA-13 exhibits potent anti-viral activity by preferentially targeting and killing the vaccinia virus directly and by inducing antimicrobial peptides with known activity against the virus. Additionally, we demonstrate that topical administration of CSA-13 significantly reduces the development of satellite lesions. Taken together, our current study suggests that CSAs may be effective as an anti-viral agent against disseminated vaccinia virus infections. The development of these synthetic agents for treatment of disseminated viral skin infection represents an exciting advance."

Steve Porter, Chairman and CEO of Ceragenix stated: "We thank Dr. Leung and his colleagues for his excellent work and his important findings on the anti-viral properties of our lead compound. Dr. Leung's group was the first to recognize the potential anti-viral properties of our Ceragenin™ compounds."

Source
Ceragenix