Idenix's Valopicitabine/pegylated interferon combo suppresses hepatitis C virus, study shows

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Nov. 11 - Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. said initial data from its phase 2b clinical trial of Valopicitabine show that the drug, when combined with pegylated interferon, demonstrates significantly greater viral suppression in patients with chronic hepatitis C than patients who received a combination of ribavirin and pegylated interferon.

The 48-week trial is ongoing and enrollment is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the company said.

The trial is designed to evaluate different dosing regimens of valopicitabine with pegylated interferon in hepatitis C patients who have not responded to previous therapies and to compare this with the combination therapy of pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

Principal investigator Christopher O'Brien of the University of Miami will present the initial data on Monday at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases held in San Francisco.

Idenix plans to initiate phase 3 clinical trials of the drug combination in the first quarter of 2006, the company said.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Mass., that develops drugs for the treatment of human viral diseases and other infectious diseases.

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