PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. firm AVI BioPharma says pre-clinical data show antisense drug Neugene beats multiple strains of Influenza A, including bird flu.
In the study, eight Neugene antisense drugs were evaluated for their ability to inhibit influenza A virus by blocking the complementary RNA sequences that are highly conserved across viral subtypes, the company said.
AVI said a number of the agents were "highly efficacious, each reducing viral titer in a dose-responsive and sequence-specific manner." But of the eight Neugene agents tested, two worked especially well in subduing the influenza A virus, including strains H1N1, H3N2, H3N8, H7N7 and most importantly, the deadly H5N1 avian virus, or bird flu.
"This latest publication is further evidence that Neugene drugs offer a broad-spectrum therapeutic approach to treating a high percentage of known influenza viral strains," said Patrick Iversen, senior vice president of research and development at AVI. "Two of the Neugene drugs used in these studies have now moved into preclinical animal studies against both seasonal and avian influenza strains."
