HIV: First-in-Class Therapies Target Major Unmet Needs Including Drug Resistance and Latency Reversal

HIV: First-in-Class Therapies Target Major Unmet Needs Including Drug Resistance and Latency Reversal

Summary

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a chronic disease that can be transmitted through blood, semen, and other bodily fluids by means such as sexual contact, pregnancy and breastfeeding, the sharing of injection drug equipment, and blood transfusions.

As the disease progresses, the virus causes depletion of a type of immune cell known as cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) cells in the infected host. The loss of these cells leads to the progressive deterioration of the immune system, eventually resulting in the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is associated with multiple opportunistic infections.

Without treatment, HIV can progress to AIDS and may be fatal within a number of years. However, when appropriately managed with antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV patients can achieve a near-normal life-expectancy.

Despite this, there is a continuing need to develop innovative new therapies for HIV, particularly among highly treated patients in whom HIV has developed resistance to one or more drugs.

Scope

• The HIV pipeline is large, with more than 400 programs in active development. What proportion of these products are first-in-class? How does first-in-class innovation vary by development stage and molecular target class?
• Approximately 50 first-in-class targets have been identified within the HIV pipeline. Among these, what is the distribution of host versus viral targets? Which of the host targets are considered to be most promising?
• Across the HIV landscape, there are more than 250 active companies. Which companies have formed partnerships? Which companies have first-in-class assets in development with no prior deal involvement?

Reasons to buy

• Understand the current disease landscape with an in-depth discussion of etiology, pathophysiology, disease classification and staging systems, epidemiology, and marketed therapies for HIV.
• Analyze the HIV pipeline, and stratify pipeline assets by stage of development, molecule type, and molecular target.
• Assess the therapeutic potential of first-in-class molecular targets. Using a proprietary matrix assessment, host first-in-class molecular targets for HIV have been assessed and ranked according to clinical potential, and the most promising of these targets are reviewed in greater detail. Key features of viral first-in-class targets are also outlined.
• Analyze company strategies in prior deals through case studies of key deals for HIV first-in-class products, and recognize commercial opportunities by identifying first-in-class pipeline products that have not yet been involved in licensing or co-development deals.