Dr. Dan Rockey
Dr. Dan Rockey recently received a 2-year award to work with a local biotechnology company on a broad-spectrum anti-infective compound known as ST-669. SIGA Technologies, Inc. is a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to fight biowarfare pathogens. The company recently was awarded a multi-million dollar contract from the Department of Defense to support the preclinical development of this compound. ST-669 has shown sub-micromolar in vitro antiviral activity against many different and diverse viral pathogens of humans and animals. Several of these pathogens are serious threats to human health, and thus are designated “Category A” and “Category B” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Individuals in Dr. Rockey’s laboratory are working with researchers at SIGA to examine the activity of ST-669 against additional pathogens of interest, and to develop an understanding of the mechanism of action of the drug within a host. Dr. Rockey said, “The specific molecular target of the drug is an important issue because identification of the target will allow investigators to improve the inhibitory activity of ST-669 through minor chemical modification. We also can use this information to perhaps identify additional and novel compounds specific to the target. It is a particularly interesting subject because of the broad specificity of the drug.”
