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Visterra to Present Data at ICAAC on VIS513, Its Humanized Monoclonal Antibody That Targets a Conserved Site on the Dengue Virus E ProteinCAMBRIDGE, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- Visterra, Inc., a biotechnology company that uses its proprietary technology platform to identify unique disease targets and design novel therapeutics, today announced that new preclinical data for VIS513 will be presented at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Washington, D.C. "VIS513 was developed using Visterra's innovative and proprietary technology and we are very encouraged by these new data which show the potential of VIS513 to broadly neutralize all four dengue virus serotypes," said Brian J. G. Pereira, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Visterra. "Currently there is no specific treatment for dengue and prevention depends solely on limiting or eradicating mosquitoes that transmit the virus. VIS513 has demonstrated a rapid reduction in viral titers after a single systemic administration, which supports its potential use as a treatment for dengue virus infection. Based on these data, we plan to advance its development and enter the clinic in 2015."
About Dengue Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. There are four distinct, but related, serotypes of the virus that cause dengue. The virus infects cells of the human immune system and other cell types, leading to symptoms that include high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash, and mild bleeding. In severe cases, plasma leaks out of the circulatory system and can be fatal. There is currently no specific treatment for dengue and prevention depends solely on effective vector control measures. The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. About half of the world's population is at risk for dengue fever and a recent study estimates that approximately 390 million people are infected each year. The World Health Organization estimates that 500,000 people with severe dengue require hospitalization each year, a large proportion of who are children, and more than 20,000 of those affected die each year. About Visterra Visterra is a biotechnology company that uses its proprietary Hierotope™ Platform to identify unique disease targets and design effective therapeutics. The company's technology is powered by computational tools and techniques, called Atomic Interaction Network (AIN) analysis, which uniquely identifies an area, or epitope, on the target site that is fundamental to its structure and function. This ideal epitope, or hierotope, becomes the target against which the company designs a novel therapeutic to effectively and durably combat the disease. The company is currently focused on therapeutics for infectious diseases and its lead antibody product candidate, VIS410, is a broad spectrum human monoclonal antibody for the prevention and treatment of both seasonal and pandemic influenza. Visterra was founded based on scientific work developed in the laboratory of Dr. Ram Sasisekharan and licensed from MIT (News - Alert). For more information please visit www.visterrainc.com. |
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