TCAD therapy superior to double combinations and monotherapy against influenza viruses

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today results from in vivo animal studies and in vitro tests demonstrating that its triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy is superior relative to double combinations and monotherapy against multiple strains of pandemic and avian influenza viruses. Results of these studies were presented Sunday evening in an oral session at the XII International Symposium on Respiratory Viral Infections being held in Taipei.

Currently, virtually all influenza A viruses are resistant to at least one approved antiviral and mounting evidence suggests that monotherapy leads to single and multi-drug resistance, creating a pressing need for new influenza therapies.

Data presented by Adamas at the conference demonstrates that the triple combination of amantadine, ribavirin, and oseltamivir is highly active against susceptible and resistant influenza A virus infection in mouse models. In addition, the triple combination was shown to suppress the generation of resistant influenza A viruses in vitro. These data confirm findings from recently published in vitro studies (PLoS One, AAC), and answer fundamental questions about the viral kinetics of susceptible and resistant strains of the influenza A virus in response to TCAD.

"With these data, Adamas and its collaborators continue to build a strong case for triple combination therapy in influenza," said Richard J. Whitley, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology and Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "They have demonstrated that the addition of a third drug is critical to increase the genetic barrier to resistance for influenza. Importantly, the use of a triple drug combination also results in a substantial increase in efficacy over double combinations at clinically relevant concentrations, allowing the continued use of drugs to which the virus has evolved resistance. If validated in human studies, TCAD could fill a significant gap in the treatment of influenza."

SOURCE Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.