VivaGel Presented at Herpes Management Forum
Starpharma Presents On Vivagel At 14th Annual Meeting Of The International Herpes ManagementForum
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) will today present an invited lecture at the 14th Annual Meeting of the International Herpes Management Forum (IHMF) in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Starpharma's presentation will focus on the development of SPL7013 Gel (VivaGel) for the prevention of genital herpes and HIV. In addition, the presentation will highlight the fact that HSV-2, the virus that causes genital herpes, is highly prevalent globally, with 50-70% of HIV negative women in sub-Saharan Africa, and 22% of sexually active adults in the US infected.
It is estimated that by 2025, 40-50% of women in the U.S. will be infected with HSV-2. Genital herpes is a recurrent, lifelong viral infection, and is the most common cause of genital ulcer disease. Importantly, HSV-2 infection has been shown to increase the risk of both HIV acquisition and transmission through sexual intercourse. It has been estimated that 30-50% of all new HIV infections in Africa are directly due to HSV-2.
A key aim of the meeting is to develop international recommendations and guidelines on the management of herpes virus infections, and topical microbicides such as Starpharma's VivaGel, will play a key role in prevention of genital herpes.
The epidemiological data highlights the fact that VivaGel, if shown to be effective in reducing the risk of HSV-2 infection, could potentially have a significant impact on the incidence of HIV infection.
"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to profile VivaGel at an international scientific meeting of this calibre," Starpharma CEO Dr Jackie Fairley said.
VivaGel is being developed as a topical vaginal microbicide for the prevention of HIV and genital herpes, and is currently under investigation in healthy female volunteers in two separate expanded safety clinical trials at sites in the U.S. and Kenya. VivaGel also shows promise as a contraceptive agent.
ENDS
About
Starpharma: Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL,
OTCQX:SPHRY) is a world leader in the development of
dendrimer nanotechnology for pharmaceutical, life-science
and other applications. SPL is principally composed of two
operating companies, Starpharma Pty Ltd in Melbourne,
Australia and Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc in Michigan,
USA. Products based on SPL's dendrimer technology are
already on the market in the form of diagnostic elements and
laboratory reagents. The Company's lead pharmaceutical
development product is VivaGel (SPL7013 Gel), a vaginal
microbicide designed to prevent the transmission of STIs,
including HIV and genital herpes. In the pharmaceutical
field Starpharma has additional specific programs in the
areas of Drug Delivery and ADME Engineering(tm) (using
dendrimers to control where and when drugs go when
introduced to the body), Polyvalency (using the fact that
dendrimers can activate multiple receptors simultaneously)
and Targeted Diagnostics (using dendrimers as a scaffold to
which both location-signalling and targeting groups are
added to allow location of specific cell type, such as
cancer cells). More broadly the company is exploring
dendrimer opportunities in materials science with
applications as diverse as adhesives, lubricants and water
remediation. SPL has a comprehensive IP portfolio that
comprises more than 180 patents/applications issued and
pending across 32 patent families - a unique level of IP
concentration among nanotechnology companies. Dendrimers:
A type of precisely-defined, branched nanoparticle.
Dendrimers have applications in the medical, electronics,
chemicals and materials industries. Microbicides: A
microbicide inactivates, kills or destroys microbes such as
viruses and bacteria. Microbicides may be formulated as
gels, creams, sponges, suppositories or films with the
purpose of reducing significantly the incidence of STIs.
They are intended for vaginal or rectal use to afford
protection for varying periods, from several hours up to
days. Microbicides may also be designed to have a
contraceptive function. American Depositary Receipts
(ADRs): Starpharma's ADRs trade under the code SPHRY (CUSIP
number 855563102). Each Starpharma ADR is equivalent to 10
ordinary shares of Starpharma as traded on the Australian
Stock Exchange. The Bank of New York Mellon is the
depositary bank. Starpharma's ADRs are listed on
International OTCQX (www.otcqx.com), a premium market tier
in the U.S. for international exchange-listed companies,
operated by Pink Sheets,
LLC.
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