CBIA BizCast: ViiV’s Connecticut Success Story

Like its labs—tucked away at the far end of a Branford research park—ViiV Healthcare’s accomplishments may not be well known.  

But the company is an authentic Connecticut success, with a story that needs to be told.

ViiV and its cutting-edge R&D to treat and someday to cure HIV have had a profound impact on many lives.

Dr. Umesh Hanumegowda, who leads the company’s drug discovery efforts, joined the CBIA BizCast for a conversation with CBIA Bioscience Growth Council executive director Paul Pescatello.

Consequential Research

Few of us realize that in the wake of the chaos and tragedy of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, some of the most consequential research into HIV—the virus that causes AIDS—occurred in Connecticut. 

Connecticut scientists were among the first to identify and find effective treatments for HIV. 

HIV is so devastating because it is, first, a virus and therefore almost indescribably small—one human cell is 100 to 1000 times larger than a virus. 

And viruses are wily and zombie-like, inserting themselves into a host’s cells and then taking over the cell’s protein synthesis pathways to replicate.

“It’s a tough virus, a challenging virus.”

ViiV Healthcare’s Dr. Umesh Hanumegowda

HIV is uniquely threatening because it destroys the immune system, the very mechanism our bodies use to fight infection. 

“It’s a tough virus, a challenging virus,” Hanumegowda described. “It’s a sneaky virus, because it knows how to integrate, mutate and hide.”

Yale University research produced some of the first effective HIV medications.

Building on the work of Yale scientists, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Wallingford labs became a center for the development of the first antiretro-viral treatments.

Developing Treatments

In many ways the intellectual heir to the rich Connecticut history of HIV R&D is ViiV.  

Founded in 2009, ViiV is in the forefront of HIV research. 

The company was the first to introduce the second generation HIV integrase inhibitor, now the backbone of HIV treatment. 

“HIV is challenging, and I like a tough challenge.” 

Hanumegowda

ViiV’s HIV treatments suppress HIV to undetectable levels, dramatically improving the lives of HIV patients but also preventing transmission to others.

ViiV is also a leader in pre-exposure medications to prevent HIV infection. 

ViiV’s pre-exposure medications stop HIV from taking hold of a cell. They act as a catalyst to help the body produce antibodies which block the enzyme needed by the virus to replicate and spread throughout the body.

Finding a Cure

Hanumegowda chose to make HIV and ViiV the focus of his career. 

ViiV has a “state of the art research lab right here in Connecticut,” he said. “And HIV is challenging, and I like a tough challenge.” 

Another factor in Hanumegowda’s professional choices was the fact that “HIV disproportionately affects particular communities.”

“There is a deep stigma associated with HIV, and I feel this is a population I can help.”

Hanumegowda

“There is a socio-economic aspect to the disease,” he said. “There is a deep stigma associated with HIV, and I feel this is a population I can help.”

Will there be a cure for HIV?  

Hanumegowda is confident there will be.  

The cure could take the form of a vaccine, or “a combination of medicines and strategies.”

Ending HIV

One such strategy is the Initiative to End HIV by 2030.  

Among other measures, the initiative is about using testing and identifying barriers to treatment to combat HIV.

Its goals are simple: diagnose, treat, prevent, and respond.  

It is a public-private partnership, built on collaboration with federal and state public health agencies and the business community.  

“We are in it till HIV and AIDS aren’t.”

Hanumegowda

CBIA has signed on, pledging to make its employees and members more aware of how to prevent and treat HIV.

As to ViiV, the company plans to stay focused.  

Hanumegowda emphasized that ViiV has “demonstrated that staying focused will fetch us the right results.”

“So, we are in it till HIV and AIDS aren’t,” he said.

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Paul Pescatello is the executive director of CBIA’s Bioscience Growth Council and chair of We Work for Health Connecticut. Follow him on X @CTBio.

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