NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC.OB) (the "Company"), announced today that it has signed a pre-clinical study agreement for the evaluation of NanoViricides' drug candidate for herpes keratitis of the eye. The study will be conducted by Thevac, LLC, a spin-off of the Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, LA. It will be performed in collaboration with the Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, which administers the LSU-Tulane Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research (Director, K. G. Kousoulas, PhD).
Herpes keratitis (herpes virus infection of the cornea) is a serious, potentially blinding disease of the eye. It is the leading infectious cause of blindness in developed countries and the most common infectious corneal disease in the United States. It can often necessitate corneal transplantation. Herpes virus infections and adenoviral infections of the cornea together constitute most of the viral disease of the external eye. At present, there is no satisfactory treatment that works for both adenoviral and herpesvirus keratitis/conjunctivitis. The potential domestic market for a drug effective against all or most viral infections of the external eye is variously estimated to be from $500M to billions of dollars.
“We are very pleased to have a recognized expert like Dr. Kousoulas associated with this study,” said Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of NanoViricides, Inc., adding, “This will provide us with independent results for the nanoviricide™ drug candidates against viral diseases of the external eye. Separate studies are expected to begin shortly in collaboration with a pharmaceutical company.”
“The NanoViricides technology appears to be very promising for treating a variety of viral diseases including influenza,” says Dr. Kousoulas.