Bayer-Hoechst AIDS Drug Now In Clinical Trials

A chinoxalin derivative (HBY 097), developed as an antiretroviral agent in a joint research and development collaboration between German pharmaceutical companies Bayer and Hoechst, has now entered clinical testing. The product is being developed in cooperation with the Hoechst subsidiary Hoechst Roussel Pharmaceuticals and Bayer's US arm, Miles Inc.

HBY 097, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, has like many members of this class shown itself to be a potent inhibitor of HIV in vitro, but it remains to be seen whether the agent's promise will be fulfilled in the clinic, especially as most NNRTIs developed to date have been plagued with an extremely rapid emergence of viral resistance.

Early and provisional results from Phase I trialling indicate that the agent is well-tolerated, and combination Phase II trials with other antivials are now in preparation, according to a Hoechst spokesman.