Theraclone Gets Funding for HIV

Theraclone Sciences, the Seattle-based developer of antibody drugs formerly known as Spaltudaq, said today it has received additional funding from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to continue developing antibodies that could lead to an AIDS vaccine, or new treatment. The HIV virus has dodged past attempts to develop antibody-based treatments or vaccines, because it mutates quickly to avoid them, but Theraclone's approach follows clues from the immune systems of people with rare immune systems that give them natural protection against the virus, as I described in this April feature. Financial terms weren't disclosed.