DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ANTI-FELINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS DRUGS

IN COLLABORATIVE STUDIES WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, WE HAVE OBTAINED PRELIMINARY DATA ON THE ANTIVIRAL PROPERTIES OF DERIVATIVES OF THE NATURAL PRODUCT GOSSYPOL. IN PARTICULAR, ONE DERIVATIVE NAMED GIL HAS SHOW PROMISING ACTIVITY IN THE TREATMENTOF DOMESTIC CATS INFECTED WITH FELINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS (FELV). ALSO NOTEWORTHY IS THE FACT THAT GIL SHOWS PROMISING IN VITRO ACTIVITY AGAINST THE AIDS VIRUS, HIV-1, SUGGESTING THAT GIL AND OTHER DERIVATIVES OF GOSSYPOL MAY HAVE BROAD SPECTRUM ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITIES. THE SPECIFIC AIM OF THIS PHASE I IS TO CONDUCT A CONTROLLED CLINICAL STUDY OF THE EFFCTIVENESS OF GIL AGAINST FELINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS IN INFECTED CATS. THIS PHASE OF THE RESEARCH IS DESIGNED: (1) TO CONFIRM THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS WITH GIL, USING A LARGER POPULATION OF ANIMALS UNDER CONTROLLEDCONDITIONS, AND (2) TO OBTAIN CLINICAL DATA PERTAINING TO THE TOXICITY OF GIL.