Designer molecule lowers HIV levels: trial results
Researchers said Wednesday a lab-manufactured antibody "significantly" reduced HIV blood levels in a small but promising human trial, and caused no harmful side effects. This meant the designer molecule dubbed 3BNC117 may be best used in combination with other drugs, said the team — while highlighting the promise of a new, immunotherapy-based approach to fighting HIV. "This represents potentially a new class of drugs with activity against HIV," study co-author Marina Caskey of New York's Rockefeller University told AFP. So-called monoclonal antibodies like 3BNC117 which are cloned from a single parent immune cell, hold the promise of actually killing HIV-infected cells.