CPB 697 RESEARCH SEMINAR

DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE PATHOBIOLOGY

Grace Wong, PhD

President and Chief Scientific Officer

Actokine Therapeutics

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

“Identification Of AK-1 For Radioprotection And AK-2 For Protection Against A Broad-Spectrum Viral Infection”

Thursday, January 10, 2008

VPTH 112

3:30 pm

ABSTRACT:

ActoKine Therapeutics has identified ActoKine-2 (AK-2) which protects cells against infection by a broad spectrum of viruses. In collaborative work with NIAID and other laboratories to test the efficacy of AK-2 against a variety of viruses, AK-2 was found to have a protective potency greater than interferons against RNA, DNA & retrovirus in vitro & in vivo. In particular, AK-2 was highly active against different viruses including West Nile viuses, bird flu, Rift Valley fever virus, Punta Toro phlebovirus, HIV, Yellow Fever Virus, Tacaribe virus, and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) virus. AK-2 could be administered sub-lingually or nasally to prevent infection through the nose or mouth or intravaginally to prevent against sexually transmitted diseases. These novel routes of administration can be safer, cheaper, and logistically easier than traditional injections for disease prevention.

ActoKine has also identified AK-1 which protects cells against lethal doses of radiation in mice. Identification of master control genes induced by AK-1 and AK-2 is expected to provide insight into the cellular protective mechanisms. ActoKine’s proprietary technologies (CytoKey and CytoKill) will enable discovery and validation of the function of master control genes which will allow for screening for small molecule drug candidates mimicking the actions of AK-1 and AK-2. Small molecules offer several advantages over protein based pharmaceuticals, e.g., they are cheaper to manufacture, do not require cold storage and can be administered orally.