Scientists Hope New Compound Is Better AIDS Drug


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers said on Tuesday
 they may have created a new compound to fight the virus that causes AIDS. 

The compound may survive in cells longer than existing drugs now used in
 cocktails to fight HIV, they reported in the Journal of the American
 Chemical Society. 

Vasu Nair of the University of Iowa and colleagues said they had created
 the compound using molecular engineering techniques. They stressed that
 they have not yet tested it on humans or even animals, but said it looks
 very powerful in the test tube. 

If developed into a drug, it would join an experimental but promising new
 class of drugs called integrase inhibitors. 

HIV drugs work at different steps in the process the virus goes through to
 infect cells. Integrase inhibitors would stop the virus from integrating
 its DNA into the immune system cells it attacks. 

So far, the virus has shown an ability to develop resistance to all known
 drugs on the market, so researchers are working to find drugs that will
 hold out longer. 

``The integrase step is the most critical step in my point of view, because
 this is where the (viral) invasion is complete,'' Nair said in a statement.
 ``From a scientific point of view, this is the step in which the real
 damage is done.'' 

50 million people worldwide are infected with the AIDS virus, which has led
 to 16 million deaths. Doctors agree a vaccine is the only real answer to
 the problem, but drugs can help keep infected people alive and healthy. 

Reuters, Thursday June 22 1:57 PM ET