Roche and Trimeris Sign Research Agreement to Develop Next Generation of HIV Fusion Inhibitors
BASEL, Switzerland and DURHAM, N.C. - Roche and Trimeris, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRMS) today announced that they have signed an extended research agreement to discover, develop and commercialize the next generation of HIV fusion inhibitors. This agreement affirms Roche and Trimeris' commitment to developing the next generation of fusion inhibitors to meet the future needs of HIV-infected patients.
The joint research agreement announced today expands upon a successful worldwide partnership that has been in place since 1999 and has already brought FUZEON® (enfuvirtide), the world's first fusion inhibitor, to market. FUZEON is the pioneer of the fusion inhibitor class and the first innovation in HIV treatment since 1996. Through twenty-four weeks, treatment-experienced patients using FUZEON have been shown to be twice as likely to achieve undetectable levels of HIV (less than 400 copies/mL of blood) compared to patients on a regimen without FUZEON (37 percent vs. 16 percent).
The research agreement will focus on the investigation of improved formulation and delivery technologies to enable less frequent administration of peptide fusion inhibitors and the discovery of new peptides with enhanced efficacy and resistance profiles. Due to challenges in achieving the desired technical profile of the current formulation of the investigational compound T-1249, Roche and Trimeris have decided to put the early stage clinical program of T-1249 on hold.
"We are fully committed to FUZEON, the first HIV fusion inhibitor which is now readily available for treatment-experienced HIV patients, and to developing the next generation of fusion inhibitors as follow on compounds, as rapidly and as rigorously as possible," said Dr. David Reddy, Roche HIV Franchise Leader.
"Trimeris is excited about expanding the research agreement with Roche which widens the prospects of developing future generations of improved peptide fusion inhibitors for patients with HIV," said Dr. Dani Bolognesi, co-founder and CEO, Trimeris. "The research agreement Roche and Trimeris are announcing today also provides the opportunity to pursue improved formulations and delivery technologies which may be applicable to FUZEON, T-1249 and future peptide fusion inhibitors."
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