NanoViricides signs agreement with CDC for expanded rabies research

Aug 4 2008

NanoViricides, Inc. has signed a Materials Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (MCRADA) with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia for rabies treatment study.

The study, to be performed in collaboration with the CDC Rabies Program, is scheduled to begin soon.

"This study will expand on two successful animal studies of RabiCide-I performed previously by the government of Vietnam," said Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, CEO of the Company, adding that "In those prior studies we achieved a 25% to 30% survival rate in animals that had already developed rabies. We believe this strong survival rate is a historical first achievement for any post-infection rabies treatment."

"Collaborating with CDC in designing and conducting these studies is an important step forward," said Anil R. Diwan, PhD, President of the Company, adding, "If the current studies are successful, we anticipate that this will be instrumental in helping our anti-rabies nanoviricide towards drug approval and widespread use across the world."

The Company has previously reported that Yale Research Professor Thomas Lentz, a leading expert in antiviral therapeutics based on virus-cell binding, has joined the Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Lentz studied the binding of rabies virus to various cell receptors and has performed pioneering research in this field. The Company believes that it has put together a strong team to tackle rabies.