San Mateo Daily Journal

San Mateo Daily Journal http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=109448 Tuesday April 28 2009 8:35 am Daily Journal Quick Poll Home Local News State / National / World Sports Opinion / Letters Business Arts / Entertainment Lifestyle Obituaries Calendar Special Submit Event Comics / Games Classifieds DJ Designers Community Forum Archives Advertise With Us About Us Pharmaceutical company aims to attack influenza By Mark Aspillera Will the Sharks come back and beat the Ducks in this playoff series? Yes, it is their destiny No, the momentum is against them Cross-my-fingers yes Local drug developer Gemmus Pharma is preparing to send for experimentation with the Food and Drug Administration a drug that combats the influenza virus in a new way, a drug it developed with less than half a dozen full-time employees. Mountain View-based Gemmus is planning to submit its drug, GP1001, to the FDA as an Investigational New Drug, which would allow it to be distributed over state lines for research purposes. Instead of attacking the influenza virus itself the way on-market drugs like Tamiflu do, GP1001 alters the way the host’s body responds to the infection. Gemmus CEO and researcher Dr. Daryl Faulds said the same theory could be applied to drugs that treat non-viral conditions, such as bacterial and fungal infections. In tests conducted on lab animals infected with strains of influenza and then treated with GP1001, a majority of the animals “shed” the virus and survived the infection, Faulds said. The Gemmus company profile states the drug can be used against normal influenza as well as highly infectious types such as H5N1, also known as avian flu, a strain that antiviral therapies like Tamiflu are designed to treat. GP1001 could be used independently as a treatment or as a backup to existing antiviral treatments, Faulds said. Influenza strains often originate in species of birds. The virus is then transmitted in places where humans and birds come into close proximity. According to the Center for Disease Control, avian flu infection in humans is rare, but lethal in more than half of reported cases. The CDC added that no evidence exists of human-to-human transmission. Instead, human infections are usually associated with direct physical contact between humans and domesticated birds like chickens. Faulds said what makes avian flu so lethal to humans is not known, but that it may have something to do with it developing in avian hosts with many biological differences from humans. Strains of avian flu have escalated into pandemics several times in the past. In 1918, the so-called “Spanish flu” caused approximately 20 million to 40 million deaths worldwide. Faulds said a modern influenza pandemic is still possible, but not on the scale of 1918, citing the influence of the World War I and the disparity in technology between then and today. Official: US flu victims may be infecting others MEXICO CITY � The swine flu epidemic crossed new borders Tuesday with the first cases confirmed in t.. Time for a new logo? Advertise in the ONLY locally-owned daily newspaper in San Mateo County. Consumer confidence soars in April NEW YORK � Hopeful signs that the worst may be over for the economy boosted Americans' moods in Apri.. 1 of 2 4/28/2009 9:34 AM San Mateo Daily Journal http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=109448 Gemmus’ small stature and short history contrast with the large, old virus it researches. Faulds started Gemmus Pharma with president and fellow researcher Dr. William Guilford in 2007 when they were laid off in a round of downsizing at Berlex Biosciences, U.S. subsidiary of German pharmaceutical company Schering AG. They brought with them the influenza drug they had been researching. Guilford and Faulds left Schering on “very good terms,” Faulds said, despite the company shedding approximately 80 percent of its U.S. staff. They were able to keep the rights to their research. Being such a small company is not a disadvantage when looking for investors for the expensive process of developing a drug and running it through test trials, Faulds said. Gemmus has applied for federal money with the Department of Health and Human Services and through U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo. The company also has funding requests with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Harvard University. He added that it is “impossible” for nonprofits to develop commercial drugs because of the money needed to get through the testing process. Faulds said small, specialized companies are probably the future for the pharmaceutical industry, but that Gemmus Pharma is in “expansion mode.” To satisfy requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services, the company plans to quickly expand to 30 employees and begin work on five different programs. It is based in Mountain View but also has an office in Millbrae. Despite all that, he said he intends for Gemmus to remain a smaller product developer instead of a full pharmaceutical company like Scherer AG. Gemmus collaborates on its work with Utah State University and Pacific BioDevelopment, a San Bruno-based company. The approach of farming out work gives the company greater access to research skills than a larger pharmaceutical company with a top-down command structure and all departments kept in-house, Faulds said. 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