Suven Life Sciences Ltd has entered into collaboration with University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA for developing new therapies to treat the life threatening disease human immunodefiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). This collaboration in principle is co-operating in a research and test programme to explore clinical efficacy of, and make available to patients, under safe conditions, certain naturally occurring substances that are believed to have therapeutic value for HIV-1.

Venkat Jasti, CEO of the company , said, "A desperate worldwide need for additional therapies to treat HIV-1 cost efficiency is the need of the hour & collaborating with University of Minnesota Infectious Diseases & International medicine group to develop drugs to meet this requirement by using natural resources enthused us to enter into this collaboration.

Dr Phillip Peterson, director, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Translational Research and Dr Ramaiah Muthyala, associate director, Centre for Orphan Drug Research, College of Pharmacy of University of Minnesota stated that they were particularly impressed with the shared mission and vision of their centres and Suven, i.e. to translate discoveries into inexpensive therapies that could be available to masses for the treatment and prevention of life threatening diseases like HIV and AIDS.

HIV is a retrovirus that can lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV infection in humans is now a pandemic. It is estimate that 0.6 per cent of global population is infected with HIV, mainly in Africa and Indian Sub-continent. Current antiretroviral therapy is not only costly but also not accessible to many parts of the world.