The emergence of the novel influenza A/H1N1 strain and declaration of a pandemic has highlighted the potential threat of influenza to public health and the public health system. Because of this strain's "newness" and lack of background immunity in the human population, a far larger number of people may become infected with the virus this flu season. According to the World Health Organization, the 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed; in past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the novel influenza A/H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks.

About TCAD

Adamas is pioneering triple-combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy for influenza, which is designed to inhibit viral replication at multiple points in the virus proliferation pathway. TCAD therapy includes Adamas' investigational proprietary fixed-dose combination of amantadine and ribavirin, to be administered adjunctively with a neuraminidase inhibitor such as Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate, Roche). Preclinical data indicate that the in vitro combination of these drugs, each with their own mechanism of action, act synergistically to provide a much higher level of antiviral activity than single or double drug combination therapies. In in vitro studies to date, TCAD therapy also has been found to provide greater antiviral activity across multiple strains of influenza, even those resistant to single pharmaceutical agents. Adamas is accelerating development of its TCAD therapy for influenza A by conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in the Southern Hemisphere where the novel influenza A/H1N1 pandemic is active, and is preparing to initiate a clinical study of TCAD therapy for influenza A in North America during this upcoming flu season.

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