DURHAM, N.C., July 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Argos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:ARGS), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of fully personalized immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases using its Arcelis™ technology platform, today announced that the company has presented data from its research involving AGS-004, the company's investigational fully personalized immunotherapy for HIV, at the International AIDS Society (IAS) Towards a Cure Symposium that was held at the Victoria University City Convention Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Results were presented by Dr. Irina Tcherepanova, Argos' director of molecular biology, in a poster titled "Impact of RNA loaded Dendritic cell immunotherapy on HIV sequence Evolution in Chronic HIV Subjects Undergoing ATI," on Saturday, July 19, from 4:35 – 6:00 PM.
Previously, Argos reported results of a Phase 2a clinical trial designed to assess the impact of AGS-004 during a 12-week ART analytical treatment interruption (ATI) in chronic HIV-1-infected subjects. In this follow-up sub-study, results presented revealed how viral protein sequences evolve in response to AGS-004-induced immune pressure, and that viral load (VL) control was associated with low viral sequence divergence.
"To our knowledge this is the first report associating HIV antigen sequence divergence in response to autologous therapeutic immunization with durability of VL control. These results further illustrate the potential for AGS-004 and we are looking forward to additional research milestones later this year," said Charles Nicolette, Argos' chief scientific officer and VP of research and development.
This is the first analysis aimed at understanding the effects of AGS-004-induced immune pressure in HIV subjects on viral evolution and diversity. AGS-004 is being further evaluated in a double-blind placebo-controlled phase 2b clinical trial and the company plans to announce initial results from this trial in the coming months.
About Argos Therapeutics
Argos Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of fully personalized immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases using its Arcelis™ technology platform. Argos' most advanced product candidate, AGS-003, is being evaluated in the pivotal ADAPT Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). The company also plans to report data from its Phase 2b trial of AGS-004 for the treatment of HIV in mid-2014. For more information about Argos Therapeutics, visit www.argostherapeutics.com.