Hemispherx BioPharma (HEB)

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FierceBiotech Research Article

FDA-approved genital warts drug could treat MERS

May 12, 2014 | By Emily Mullin

An injectable drug that's FDA-approved for another use may be able to treat--or even prevent--the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, which has killed more than one-quarter of its victims since it first broke out in Saudi Arabia.
Since April 2012, MERS had only been seen in the Middle East, Africa and in a few sporadic, imported cases throughout Europe. But the viral respiratory illness has made its way to the U.S., with the first appearance in Indiana and the second, reported May 12 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Florida. The World Health Organization's latest tally accounts for 536 infections, including 145 deaths, caused by MERS.

Investigators at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH, tested Philadelphia-based Hemispherx Biopharma's ($HEB) Alferon N in monkey kidney cells infected with MERS-CoV. They found that Alferon N inhibited the virus both when used 18 hours before test cells were exposed to the virus as well as one hour after exposure. The results suggest that Alferon N could be used as both a preventive medication and a potential treatment after infection.

Hemispherx's Alferon N is already approved by the FDA to treat genital warts, which are caused by infection from human papillomavirus, or HPV. Alferon N is a type of interferon made of human proteins made and released by host cells to help the body fight attacking pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, parasites or tumor cells.

While the researchers note that in vitro studies are not necessarily predictive of clinical benefits, they are encouraged by the results and are planning animal studies in nonhuman primates to test the drug.

Hemispherx was not involved in the conduct of the experimentation and received results of the studies after they were conducted. The NIAID scientists say formal publication of their work is pending.