Encouraging results with Sangamo's SB-728-T in HIV treatment

USA-based Sangamo BioSciences (Nasdaq: SGMO) has presented new clinical data from its program to develop a ZFP Therapeutic for HIV/AIDS. The data, which demonstrate that SB-728-T treatment results in a reduction in the HIV reservoir in HIV-infected subjects, are being presented at the 16th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), in Salt Lake City from May 15-18.

HIV-infected subjects enrolled in Sangamo's ongoing SB-728-902 clinical trial (Cohorts 1-3) received a single infusion of SB-728-T which resulted in a durable increase in total CD4 T-cells driven by increased ZFN-modified CD4 central memory T-cells. The extent of exposure of subjects to circulating zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) CCR5 protected CD4 T cells correlated with a long term decrease in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) HIV reservoir as measured by proviral DNA. In addition, two of four evaluable subjects in Cohort 5 of this study showed a decrease of greater than one log in their viral load during a 16 week treatment interruption (TI) with one of the subjects achieving a transiently undetectable viral load during the TI period. In subjects in which viral load decreased, a measureable anti-HIV response was observed, specifically a multi-functional response of CD8 T-cells to elements of HIV core proteins.

“Quite remarkable” data, says CMO