LA JOLLA, Calif., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Nasdaq: AGPH) reported favorable results from preclinical studies of its
compound AG7088 targeting human rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the
common cold. Scientists reported these findings at the 38th Interscience
Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Diego.
AG7088, an inhibitor of the rhinovirus 3C protease enzyme, was reported to
potently inhibit viral replication of all tested serotypes (46/46) of
rhinovirus and to have a broad spectrum of antiviral activity superior to those
of other anti-rhinoviral agents which act by an alternate mechanism. In
addition, AG7088 proved effective in inhibiting the replication in vitro of
several other medically important viruses related to rhinovirus, including
coxsackieviruses A21 and B3, as well as enterovirus 70 and echovirus 11.
Infection of human bronchial epithelial cells with rhinovirus resulted in
elevated production of the inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 thought to be
responsible for some of the clinical symptoms of the common cold. Treatment of
infected cells with AG7088 not only caused substantial reduction in infectious
virus released by the cells, but also caused a significant decrease in levels
of IL-6 and IL-8, even when AG7088 was added after infection. These results
suggest that AG7088 has the potential to block replication of rhinovirus and to
diminish clinical manifestations of rhinovirus infections.
Rhinovirus infections are associated with exacerbations of certain chronic
respiratory diseases, such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis
affecting more than twenty million Americans. Rhinovirus is a member of the
Picornaviridae family of viruses, linked with such other important diseases as
aseptic meningitis, conjunctivitis and encephalitis. Agouron plans to initiate
human clinical studies of AG7088 later this year.
Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated pharmaceutical company
committed to the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of
innovative therapeutic products engineered to inactivate proteins that play key
roles in cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases.
For more information on Agouron, you may visit the Agouron Web Site at
http://www.agouron.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements or predictions.
These statements represent the company's judgment as of this date and are
subject to risks and uncertainties (including those associated with regulatory
approvals and the impact of competitive products) that could cause the actual
results to differ materially. Important factors concerning these risks are
discussed in Agouron's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998
currently on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Agouron
undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to
such forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
SOURCE Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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CONTACT:
Investor Contact: Donna Nichols, Vice
President, Head of Corporate Communications, of Agouron
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 619-622-3009
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