Biota in US agreement over SARS tests

Biota (ASX:BTA) has formed an agreement with two US government agencies -- the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) -- to test the company's antiviral compounds for activity against the SARS virus.

Dr Simon Tucker, Biota's science director, said the company's search for novel anti-viral drugs for common respiratory infections had yielded a diverse library of compounds to target the various molecular mechanisms that common respiratory viruses employ to infect respiratory cells.

The SARS virus may be using a similar passkey to a well-known respiratory virus to infect respiratory tract cells -- the choice of portals is not unlimited. So the SARS virus may be vulnerable to the same type off inhibitory molecule as a more common respiratory virus.

Biota has selected 40 candidate compounds with known activity, for testing against a number of clinical isolates of the SARS virus.

Both NIAID and USAMRIID have high-security laboratories to work with highly contagious, potentially deadly viruses, so Biota's agreement provides for the two agencies to test Biota's compounds as potential treatments for other serious viral infections like smallpox.

Tucker said any molecule which showed promising inhibitory activity against SARS would be taken back and modified to enhance its activity. The chances of the first 'hit' being a perfect SARS blocker are remote.

Apart from sending its compounds to the US for testing, Biota will also conduct its own research in Australia into potential new drugs to combat SARS.