NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Capital IQ (MHFI) announced today that it has commenced Factual Stock Report coverage on CytoDyn Inc.

CytoDyn Inc. (CYDY) is developing a class of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies to address significant unmet medical needs in the areas of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The company's lead product candidate, PRO 140, belongs to a class of HIV therapies known as entry inhibitors. These therapies potentially block HIV from entering into and infecting certain cells. Although CytoDyn intends to focus its efforts on PRO 140, the company also holds certain rights in two proprietary platform technologies: Cytolin, a monoclonal antibody targeting HIV with a mechanism of action which may prove to be synergistic to that of PRO 140 and other treatments; and CytoFeline, a monoclonal antibody targeting Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).

The company believes the PRO 140 antibody shows promise as a powerful anti-viral agent while not being a drug, which means fewer side effects and less frequent dosing requirements as compared to daily drug therapies currently in use. PRO 140 blocks HIV from entering a cell by binding to a molecule called CCR5, a normal cell surface receptor protein to which HIV attaches as part of HIV's entry into a cell.

The company notes that PRO 140 is an antibody and not a drug, and that through preliminary, short-term trials it has demonstrated efficacy without issues relating to toxicity and autoimmune resistance. Moreover, these trials suggested that PRO 140 does not affect the normal function of the CCR5 receptor. Instead, PRO 140 binds to a precise site on CCR5 that HIV uses to enter the cell and, in doing so, inhibits the ability of HIV to infect the cell without affecting the cell's normal function.

In furtherance of its business strategy, the company has entered into a manufacturing agreement with a contract manufacturing organization to initiate preparations for the potential future manufacturing of additional PRO 140.

CytoDyn believes that PRO 140 has demonstrated potent (as compared to existing treatments) antiretroviral activity and an encouraging safety profile in prior clinical testing, that PRO 140 has the potential to be the first long-acting (weekly or every other week), self-administered HIV therapy, and that PRO 140 may inhibit CCR5-tropic HIV while preserving CCR5's natural activity. PRO 140 also appears to broadly inhibit drug-resistant CCR5-tropic HIV viruses, including one resistant to small-molecule anti-CCR5 HIV therapies. The company notes that PRO 140 has no effect on strains of HIV that enter through the CXCR4 cell portal. Overall, CytoDyn believes that PRO 140 represents a distinct class of CCR5 inhibitors with unique virological and immunological properties and may provide another distinct tool to treat HIV-infected subjects.

As of July 2014, PRO 140 was being studied in three clinical trials.

CytoDyn Inc. is based in Vancouver, Washington.

S&P Capital IQ's Factual Stock Report coverage on CytoDyn Inc will also be accessible on an ongoing basis to the investment community by scores of buy-side institutions and sell-side firms that utilize S&P Capital IQ research and information platforms daily. Millions of self-directed investors also have access to the report via their e-brokerage accounts. Please visit http://www.cytodyn.com/ for additional information.

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