Hypericin: Oral Trial Planned

On September 15, VIMRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced plans
to begin a trial of hypericin in an oral dose, probably
before the end of 1993. The trial, sponsored by the U.S.
National Institutes of Health, is planned for three sites:
New York University Medical Center, Beth Israel Hospital in
Boston, and a third site not yet selected. The new trial is
not recruiting at this time.

Background and Update

Hypericin is an antiviral compound which is found in the St.
John's wort herb, and can also be chemically synthesized. In
the laboratory, it is active against many viruses, including
HIV and CMV. St. John's wort extracts have long been sold in
buyers' clubs and health-food stores, but these products
generally contain only a little hypericin, as it is found in
the plant in very low concentrations. We do not have
independent verification of how much each product contains.

An earlier trial at New York University (ACTG 150, also
sponsored by the NIH) gave larger amounts of synthetic
hypericin intravenously to volunteers. This trial had to be
stopped at one of its lower doses, because the drug caused
phototoxicity -- abnormal sensitivity of the skin to sunlight
or other strong light. Researchers were watching for this
side effect, because it had been seen in animals. There is
also concern, however, that light might be necessary for
hypericin to be effective as an antiviral. We do not know
what if any antiviral activity was seen in that trial.

At the IXth International Conference on AIDS in Berlin, June
6-11, German researchers reported on successful treatment of
16 of 18 patients for over 40 months, using both intravenous
and oral hypericin but no other antiviral treatment.
[Steinbeck-Klose A, and Wernet P. Successful long term
treatment over 40 months of HIV patients with intravenous
hypericin. Abstract # PO-B26-2012.]

Note: AIDS TREATMENT NEWS has published a number of reports
on hypericin, starting in issue #63 (August 26, 1988). There
has been less interest recently, due to the lack of
definitive results after five years. We still believe that
this potential antiviral is worth testing.