Scientists are developing a drug that may be effective in treating two sexually transmitted infections at once – HIV and genital herpes – as well as potentially preventing the spread of HIV from one person to another.

Researchers from the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium say the experimental drug, dubbed PMEO-DAPym, can tackle both HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and HSV (herpes simplex virus). The drug can prevent HIV from multiplying, making the cells targeted by the virus less susceptible to infection.

The researchers say that both HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and HSV, the virus that causes genital herpes, can together have dangerous effects. People with genital herpes are more likely to become infected with HIV. Additionally, the scientists say, for people who carry both viruses, one infection can worsen the symptoms of the other. These people are also more likely to infect their partners.

There are drugs already on the market that are both anti-HIV and anti-HSV – tenofovir and adefovir. But the researchers say these drugs do not have the ability to stop the spread of the HIV virus as well as targeting particular cells.

PMEO-DAPym can do this by effectively “down-modulating” the CCR5 receptor. This a molecule on the surface of human immune cells that the HIV virus exploits to enter and infect the cells.

Jan Balzarini of KU Leuven says: