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Montreal team makes HIV discovery Virus gets help from a cell protein. Finding is expected to help development of new class of drugs to combat the disease CHARLIE FIDELMAN, The Gazette Published: Saturday, July 14 Montreal researchers have identified a novel target that's an accomplice to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The virus doesn't work alone, but recruits a collaborator - a cell protein - in its mission to multiply and spread through the body, explained Eric Cohen, a professor of medicine at the UniversitE de MontrEal. Cohen and his team of researchers at the Institut de recherches cliniques de MontrEal yesterday published the findings in PLoS Pathogens, a peer- reviewed journal that is issued monthly by the Public Library of Science. Email to a friendPrinter friendly Font: * * * * Despite having transformed HIV/AIDS from a fatal disease to to a chronic one, scientists are still at a loss to explain how the human immunodeficiency virus causes illness and why it persists despite highly effective anti-retroviral drug therapy. The discovery by Cohen's team is expected to open the door to the development of a new class of drugs to combat the disease, Canada's top HIV experts stated yesterday. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) leads to AIDS by depleting essential immune cells called CD4+T lymphocytes in infected individuals. Key to this process is a small HIV protein, said Cohen, who identified the viral protein R (Vpr) a decade ago while at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge. Mass.. "The role of this protein, called E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, is likely to control the orderly division of cells," Cohen said. HIV uses this protein to weaken infected immune cells. The cells then stop dividing and die, he explained. Also, the protein helps sabotage immune cells so the virus can harness their resources for its own purposes - that is, to replicate and spread the infection. "The virus is creating an environment inside the cells where it can multiply better. Ultimately, the cells will die," said Cohen, who holds the Canada Research Chair in human retrovirology at the U de M. Although proud of his work and of the team effort in his laboratory, Cohen cautioned that new therapies will not be available for years to come. "As with all basic fundamental discoveries, it will not lead to new types of (drugs) for six or seven years," he said. But it's a very important finding, said Rafick-Pierre SEkaly, a U de M immunologist and AIDS expert who was not involved in this discovery. "We are always looking for new ways to neutralize the virus, so finding a new target is very appealing," SEkaly said. Cohen's work explains how the virus corrupts immune cells, said virologist Mark Wainberg, director of the McGill AIDS Centre at the Jewish General Hospital. Wainberg described Cohen's finding as "exactly the kind of discovery that will excite drug companies." cfidelman@ thegazette.canwest.com
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Schering-Plough Canada to build head office in Montreal Mar 06, 2007 06:10 PM Canadian Press MONTREAL – Drug developer Schering-Plough Canada is proceeding with plans to build a $9 million three-storey office complex that will serve as the U.S. company's new Canadian head office in Montreal's west-end. Construction is about to begin on the first phase of a 60,000-square-foot building that will be built along the Trans-Canada highway, across from rival Merck Frosst's large research complex. The Schering-Plough building could be expanded in a second phase in a couple of years, officials told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. Company president and general manager Carlos Dourado will officially unveil the project at a news conference Wednesday. The structure will occupy a portion of vacant land under a long-term lease with the property's owner, Broccolini Construction, said Guy Filiatrault, director of urban planning and business services for the town of Kirkland, Que. Town officials are finalizing a building permit for the new building, which is expected to be completed this fall, he said in an interview. Quebec Economic Minister Raymond Bachand, Native Affairs Minister Geoffrey Kelley and Kirkland Mayor John Meaney are expected to participate. Schering-Plough Canada, which employs more than 850 people across the country, is part of a New Jersey-based global company that develops prescription drugs as well as consumer and animal health products. It wasn't immediately clear how many workers will be transferred from other Schering-Plough Canada operations, including its existing headquarters in nearby Pointe Claire. Schering-Plough Canada operates a manufacturing plant in Pointe Claire, where more than 400 employees help produce 300 million tablets annually for domestic and international markets. In 2000, Schering-Plough Canada invested $25 million to modernize its manufacturing plant and expand the nearby warehouse. The project. built by Broccolini Construction, also included construction of an 86,000 square-foot, distribution centre in Kirkland. It serves the Canadian retail market and exports products to sister companies of Schering-Plough in the US, Europe and Asia. It processes 120,000 product orders annually, said the company's website. In January, Montreal-based pharma company Warnex Inc. (TSX: WNX) said it will develop new pharmacogenetic assays – used to predict a patient's response to drugs – and operate a central laboratory for several of Schering-Plough Canada's clinical studies. The Canadian company's parent, Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE: SGP), recently reported its fourth-quarter profits surged 75 per cent as strong sales of cholesterol, arthritis and allergy medicines offset rising research and marketing spending. The company's sales include revenue from a joint venture with Merck & Co. on cholesterol drugs.
