Ebolavirus Entry Inhibition

 

The #EBOLAproject has really taken off, as you will see from this update...

First things first: the above graph is data from one of our academic collaborators demonstrating that OS2966 IS A POTENT INHIBITOR OF EBOLA ENTRY!!! They used an in vitro model of Ebola entry that is predictive of in vivo activity with replication-incompetent Ebola (expressing the glycoprotein of the original Mayinga strain from 1976). They have performed the study 3 times, blinded, with similar results each time.

Seeing that first Excel spreadsheet was one of those rare eureka moments a scientist gets in their career when they know they've stumbled on something potentially big. I almost burst holding in my excitement for the past 2 weeks as I waited for them to confirm their results; once, then twice.

This is the first important demonstration of proof of concept (POC) for our heretical hypothesis. However, many more experiments will need to be completed to further characterize the activity. Still, OS2966 is the first and only Ebolavirus entry inhibitor in development. All other companies are developing drugs targeted against viral proteins which is an approach that is much more susceptible to the development of resistance. Stay tuned.

Many other exciting things have happened in the meantime which I will list here:

1. We have established two more collaborations with leading Ebola researchers in the US and in Europe. Again, I cannot name names yet, but they are some major players. Notably, one collaborator wants to take it straight to a primate model. This will be very expensive (six figures), but we will just have to raise the money. Hopefully, we can get a tiny fraction of some of the billions in government and foundation funding ASAP.
2. Based on the above results, OncoSynergy has launched a formal development program for Ebola. This program will have two parallel arms... one in west Africa and one in the US in pursuit of FDA approval.
3. Unfortunately, we have been advised not to use the material we have on hand due to the fact it is the product of an uncharacterized cell line. Therefore, we are working closely with our manufacturer to accelerate our production of clinical-grade material for both arms of development.
4. We have gotten some pretty decent international coverage lately:

• Swedish National Radio: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programi... (Sorry, this report is in Swedish)
• South African Broadcaster eNCA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvfRZ7oLqQc&list=U... (TV news spot)

In addition to our 4 Ebola collaborators, our internal investigations are moving along to characterize glycoprotein interactions with CD29. These studies are being done at OncoSynergy HQ lab as well as with our contract lab in San Diego. Bottom line: the #EBOLAproject is on a new level. Thanks again to all the backers for giving us the momentum to get to this point in just a few weeks.

wSc