Alloferon

Alloferon is approved for genital herpes in Russia (2003-10-30)
EntoPharm announced today that Ministry of Health Russian Federation approved Alloferon for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes.

Alloferon, a novel peptide with antiviral effect, is the first immunomodulatory agent originated from an insect. Alloferon works by stimulating immune response to viral infection through enforcing natural killer cell activity and inducing endogenous interferon synthesis. In the clinical trials, Alloferon showed competent antiviral efficacy against herpes simplex virus and excellent safety profile. Alloferon treatment has significantly reduced severity, duration, and frequency of painful recurrence of genital herpes as compared to control group which received base therapy including existing therapeutics for the disease.

“Today’s Approval of Alloferon proves our belief on the potential of insect-based therapeutics.” said Mr. Soo-In Kim, President and CEO of EntoPharm. “On the basis of this important milestone, we will continuously do our utmost to be at the forefront of insect-based therapeutic research.”

Alloferon is currently developed as injection form and packaged in vial as a lyophilized powder to be dissolved in saline solution right before the injection. EntoPharm will market the product through its Russian subsidiary and agent. It will be prescribed from next year in Russia and CIS countries.

Recurrent Genital Herpes
Recurrent genital herpes is an infection caused mainly by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Even though the infection is not lethal, it causes painful eruptions on the skin and mucous membranes and the symptoms tend to recur frequently in a portion of infected population. It is estimated that about 90 million people are suffering from recurrent genital herpes worldwide and 8 million people are registered as sufferers in Russia. No effective vaccine for the disease is available until now. It is reported that people with degraded immune capacity develop more frequent and severe episode of the disease. Thus Alloferon, which works through its unique immune modulating mechanism, is expected to be of great help for these patients.

EntoPharm
EntoPharm is clinical-stage biotechnology company focusing on the discovery and development of bioactive peptides from insects for therapeutic application as anti-viral, anti-cancer and antibiotic drugs. Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, the company has its operations in Russia as well as Korea. Besides its lead product Alloferon, EntoPharm is currently developing several drug candidates originated from insect. The company's name, EntoPharm is a combination of the abbreviations of 'entomology' and 'pharmaceutical,' which indicate the specialized field of the company. 

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