BMS-955176

BMS-955176‏‎ is an antiviral drug that was under development by Bristol-Myers Squibb for the treatment of HIV infection. It is a second-generation maturation inhibitor, a class of drugs that interfere with the final stage of the HIV life cycle.

History

BMS-955176‏‎ was developed as a follow-up to bevirimat, the first maturation inhibitor to reach clinical trials. Bevirimat showed promise in early trials, but its effectiveness was limited by naturally occurring variations in the HIV virus. BMS-955176‏‎ was designed to overcome these limitations and showed activity against a wider range of HIV variants in preclinical studies.

Mechanism of Action

As a maturation inhibitor, BMS-955176‏‎ interferes with the final step in the HIV life cycle, the conversion of the immature virus particle into a mature, infectious virus. It does this by binding to the Gag protein, a key structural protein of the virus, and preventing it from being cleaved by the viral protease enzyme. This leaves the virus in an immature state and unable to infect new cells.

Clinical Trials

BMS-955176‏‎ has been tested in Phase IIb clinical trials. The results showed that the drug was generally well tolerated and had a similar efficacy to other antiretroviral drugs when used in combination therapy. However, development of the drug was discontinued in 2016 for reasons that were not publicly disclosed.

See Also

• Antiretroviral drug
• HIV/AIDS
• Drug development