CEL-SCI Signs Agreement With U.S. Government Institute for Testing of Drug Against Avian Flu Virus H5N1
CEL-SCI CORPORATION has signed a Cooperative Agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and infectious diseases (NIAID), an institute of the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. government, to test CEL-SCI's patented anti-infective drug CEL-1000 against the avian flu virus H5N1 in animal models. The testing will be conducted to determine whether CEL-1000 could be used as a potential treatment and/or preventive agent against this virus.
CEL-1000 has previously been shown to be protective in animal challenge studies against viruses and unrelated diseases, specifically herpes simplex virus, viral encephalitis and malaria, and to enhance survival against cancer in animals. CEL-1000 appears to activate innate (very early stage) and Th1 type (cellular) immune responses to induce a broad-spectrum protection against infection in animal models. The innate immune system is generally accepted to be the first line of defense against infectious agents.
CEL-1000, derived from the beta chain of human MHC-II, is a modified version of a human immune-based protein known to bind to both human and mouse immune cells and appears to act by enhancing the host's protective immune response.
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