MicroProbe To FileIND For MPC-531 Antiviral In 1995

Oligonucleotide-based drug developer MicroProbe has said that it plans to file an Investigational New Drug application for its first protein blocker, MPC-531, sometime next year in the USA, depending on how ongoing negotiations proceed with potential US corporate partners.

MPC-531 is the lead agent in Micro-Probe's novel class of non-toxic, broad-spectrum antivirals, according to chief financial officer Greg Sessler. The 32-mer phosphodiester oligonucleotide has been shown to have activity in vitro against HIV, CMV and also the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever and for which no drug has been approved to date. Preclinical testing of MPC-531 has revealed that it is effective against zidovudine-resistant HIV and ganciclovir-resistant CMV, and the drug appears to be synergistic in anti-HIV activity with zidovudine. It is not cross-resistant with other antiviral agents, according to Mr Sessler.

Regarding the agent's mechanism of action, MicroProbe has found that it has reverse transcriptase inhibitory activity, but this is not thought to be the primary effect. At the moment it seems likely that MPC-531 targets DNA polymerase, although the precise activity still needs to be elucidated. Animal work on MPC-531 has used an intraperitoneal formulation, but Mr Sessler said that there is "speculative potential" for oral delivery. Micro-Probe has identified a possible collaborator for work on an oral form.