Autoimmune Technologies is developing FF-3 as a nasal and oral spray for use by adults and children for treatment and post-exposure prevention of seasonal and pandemic flu.

Laboratory and animal testing has shown FF-3 to be extremely effective against the H1, H3 and H5 subtypes of Influenza A viruses, including the recent H1N1 pandemic strain, and against Influenza B. In animal tests, the drug was so effective that it prevented illness from developing in animals which were inoculated with flu virus, and it completely blocked transmission of the virus from the inoculated and treated animals to untreated animals living in the same cages. FF-3 acts on the virus and not on the host, so this same degree of effectiveness can reasonably be expected to be seen in in humans as well.

The active ingredient in the new drug is the FF-3 peptide. A peptide is a short chain of amino acids, and this particular peptide acts directly against the individual particles of flu virus before the virus is able to enter and infect its target cell. FF-3 interferes with the action of the hemagglutinin fusion proteins on the surface of the virus to prevent entry into the cell. This method of action is entirely different from the that of all current flu drugs, which begin to act only after infection has taken place.

Toxicology studies conducted with FF-3 to date have found no adverse effects at the highest doses tested.

FF-3 is now in clinical trials. Information about these clinical studies can be found at http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01313962.