While retroviral therapy now sees patients survive into their seventies, latent residual infection still condemns the HIV-infected to life time therapy, chronic health problems and shortened lives. Compelling preclinical data now supported by two Phase II human trials indicate that Abivax's ABX464 could be the first drug to drain the latent HIV reservoir. With its novel mode of action ("MoA"), the drug may not only act to reduce or even eradicate residual infection untouched by existing antiretrovirals, but also provide relief from the inflammation that blights the lives of patients with HIV as well as other major unrelated diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease ("IBD"). ABX464 has potential as an HIV curative therapy or as adjunct to existing treatments. Risk adjusted modelling suggests fair values for curative and adjunctive scenarios of €28.5 and €16.3 / share, rising to €48 and €27 respectively should on-going clinical trials in HIV and IBD yield positive results during 2018.
