The National Cancer Institute (NCI) seeks a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) collaborator to develop a series of short peptides derived from indolicidin. These peptides exhibit potent anti-retroviral activity by inhibiting HIV-1 integrase and possess higher antiviral and anti-integrase activity than indolicidin itself. Potential Commercial Applications: • Treatment of retroviral infections such as AIDS. • These compounds may be used alone, or in combination with other anti-viral therapies directed at other viral targets such as protease and reverse transcriptase. Main Advantages of the Technology: • Potential for high clinical utility since HIV-1 integrase is essential for viral replication and no counterpart exists in mammalian cells. Current State of Development: • Testing of tetrameric peptides show that these oligomers inhibit the action of integrase at nanomolar concentrations. Further R&D Required: • Enhancing the transport properties of the current agents • Evaluating toxicology and efficacy in vivo. Patent Status: • Three U.S. Patent Applications filed 1/06/2004, 2/25/2004, and 8/10/2004 Pertinent References: • Krajewski K, et al. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2004 Nov 15;14(22):5595-8. • Krajewski K, et al. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2003 Oct 6;13(19):3203-5. Contact Information: CRADA Contact: Steven C. Fausch, Ph.D., Technology Transfer Branch, NCI Phone: 301-846-5222; E-mail: [email protected] Licensing Contact: Sally Hu, Ph.D., M.B.A., Office of Technology Transfer, NIH Phone: 301-435-5606; E-mail: [email protected]

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