NanoViricides Inc., is working on a platform technology that uses “nanoviricides” to trap and destroy pathogenic viruses. These nanoviricides are nano-sized flexible structures comprised of polymeric lipids that have the virus-binding ligand chemically attached to their surface. The ligand — or molecular bond — comes from the binding site of the virus on the host cell surface receptor. The virus is thus fooled into attaching to the nanoviricide instead of the host cell. Once attached, the flexible glob wraps around the virus to neutralize and destroy it. The virus is thus prevented from infecting healthy cells.
Nanoviricides represent a new advance in the design of smart drugs. Current immunotherapeutics such as vaccines and antibodies are effective antiviral strategies that harness the mechanisms of the human immune system to counteract viruses. Unfortunately, these immunotherapies often fail, especially in people with weak immune systems or with viruses that mutate easily. The NanoViricide smart technology avoids both problems because it functions independent of the human immune system. It mimics virus binding to the host cell receptor, which is resistant to change.
NanoViricide product candidates are based on TheraCour technology invented by the company’s president and founder Anil R. Diwan, Ph.D. Diwan has been working on polymeric micelle-based nanomedicine technologies since 1991. The NanoViricide technology can be customized to counteract the viral infection of choice based on a selection of virus-specific ligand. Current drug candidates that have shown to be extremely effective in preclinical experiments include:
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- FluCide: Anti-influenza drug candidate shown to be 15 times more effective than an extended treatment with antiviral drug Tamiflu (Roche).
- HIVCide: Anti-HIV drug candidate demonstrating effectiveness equal to a three-drug cocktail (HAART). The result, if reproduced in humans, is predicted to be a potential functional cure for HIV/AIDS.
- EKC-Cide: Antiviral eye drops against kerato-conjunctivitis.
- DengueCide: Broad-spectrum drug candidate effective against all four types of viruses causing dengue. The company has filed an orphan drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fast track development for this drug. The urgency being the lack of a vaccine or effective drugs to treat dengue viral infections, which causes 50,000 to 100,000 deaths annually.
- HerpeCide: A skin cream against oral and genital herpes.
The company estimates a market size of more than $40 billion worldwide with its drug pipeline. NanoViricide Inc. has raised $6 million in a convertible debenture offering to three family offices and charitable foundation in February 2013. The company currently has approximately $16 million cash and cash-equivalent assets in hand sufficient to be able to take at least one of its influenza drugs through initial human clinical trials.
NanoViricide is a publicly traded biotech based in West Haven, Connecticut.
[Images from NanoViricides]