Biostax and Immgenuity have entered a research collaboration agreement to expedite the development of new immunotherapeutics to treat HIV and other diseases.

The research will focus on Immgenuity’s IMTV014 vaccine platform and Biostax’s Lodonal and JKB-122, both independently and together.

The companies will jointly determine if the immune-modulatory effects of their combined therapies can achieve remission in HIV patients.

Immgenuity president and CEO Dr Sateesh Apte stated: “Remission in HIV remains the ultimate aspiration for both Biostax’s and Immgenuity’s research and development efforts.

“Patients are required to be off all anti-viral medications before Immgenuity’s vaccine platform can be administered and we expect Biostax’s naltrexone-based drug candidates to work synergistically during the period when patients stop taking their anti-viral medications and before the vaccine’s immune response takes effect.

“This, along with Biostax’s immune-modulating therapy and our other partnerships and internal programmes, reflects our commitment to finding a therapy that will achieve remission for HIV and bring about an end to the HIV epidemic.”

IMTVO14 immunotherapy comprises a genetically modified HIV virus that restores immune signalling to provide a robust immune response to HIV.

It was found to be safe in preclinical studies for treating HIV and NeuroAIDS.

Biostax CEO Noreen Griffin stated: “Based upon existing HIV data surrounding both JKB-122 and Lodonal, we believe that by performing combined research we will generate additional compelling data, that complements our existing clinical data.

“We are delighted to enter into this partnership that will further develop our product candidates for the treatment of patients with HIV.”