Merck collaborators publish study showing potential for eradication of persistent HIV virus in the body

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today the publication of a study in the July 26 issue of the leading scientific journal Nature that provided early evidence for the use of a drug to dislodge reservoirs of hidden virus in patients receiving treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Scientists from Merck Research Laboratories collaborated with researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, the Harvard School of Public Health, National Cancer Institute, and the University of California at San Diego in the study in a collaboration initiated last year to identify new ways to purge persistent infection of HIV from the body.

“We believe that the disruption and clearance of these virus reservoirs is a critical first step to the daunting challenge of finding a cure for HIV/AIDS,” said Daria Hazuda, Ph.D., vice president, Merck Research Laboratories. “We are excited about this pioneering research and remain hopeful for its potential.”

This is the first published study to show the potential for histone deacetylase inhibitors to attack latency within dormant virus pools in a translational clinical study. This research was first presented in March at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle and more recently at the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC.

“This work provides compelling evidence to support a strategy to directly attack and eradicate latent HIV infection,” said David Margolis, MD, professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology, and epidemiology at UNC at Chapel Hill, who led the study.

The research conducted is part of a UNC-led consortium, the Collaboratory of AIDS Researchers for Eradication (CARE), funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Funding for this research was provided by Merck, the National Institutes of Health, and the James B. Pendleton Charitable Trust.

Merck’s history in HIV research and access

Merck has been engaged in the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than two decades. In 1988, Merck researchers were the first to demonstrate that inhibiting the protease enzyme would prevent replication of HIV; the following year, Merck scientists published the first crystal structure for HIV protease. Years later, Merck scientists were the first to demonstrate inhibition of HIV integrase in vitro and in vivo. Currently Merck scientists are actively pursuing HIV research against at least five distinct targets and have several HIV compounds in development. Since our first HIV medicines became available, Merck has worked to expand access to these medicines, including through partnerships with others.