NUTRA PHARMA'S RPI-MN SHOWS POSITIVE EFFECTS AGAINST HIV

Nutra Pharma has announced that its minority holding, ReceptoPharm, has completed a study of RPI-MN indicating that the drug is effective against drug-resistant strains of HIV. RPI-MN is the leading antiviral drug candidate of ReceptoPharm and is being studied in preclinical assays for its efficacy in treating HIV/AIDS.

The inhibition of multiresistant HIV-1 strains by RPI-MN preparations was investigated at the La Jolla Institute of Molecular Medicine. The activity was assessed by recombinant virus assays using a chimeric HIV CCR5 isolate containing known genetic mutations and the Renilla luciferase gene. RPI-MN inhibited drug resistant strains with a similar potency as wild type strains. The drug resistance determinants examined were those from Reverse Transcriptase (RT), Protease and fusion inhibitors. Some strains contained dual resistance to RT and Protease inhibitors with as many 23 distinct mutants. It is anticipated that this data will accelerate the move into clinical trials with subjects infected with HIV.