Arrow's lead hepatitis C compound enters preclinical development

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Feb. 6 - Arrow Therapeutics said Monday that its lead hepatitis C compound has entered full preclinical development.

Originating from Arrow's focused chemical library and optimized in-house, the compound, A-831, has shown potent activity in the replicon assay and has an excellent therapeutic index and good pharmacokinetic properties, as well as displaying a novel mechanism of action targeting the NS5a protein, according to a company news release.

Phase 1 trials on the compound are planned for the second half of 2006, by which time a further compound from Arrow's second hepatitis C program, which also targets the NS5a protein, is expected to enter preclinical development, officials said.

The urgent need for novel hepatitis C inhibitors has been well documented with an estimated 170 million sufferers worldwide. The current treatment, pegylated interferon plus ribavirin, has a poor side effect profile, is very expensive and is only effective in 50% of patients, officials said.

As with HIV/AIDS, multiple drugs in combination therapy are likely to be needed to overcome drug resistance. The value of the hepatitis C market was about $3 billion in 2004 and is forecast to grow substantially to greater than $6 billion in the next five to seven years, officials said.

"Arrow's compounds have a novel mechanism and show potent activity in the replicon assay - now well validated as a predictor of clinical activity through the work of Vertex and others. We regard NS5a as an excellent target and these inhibitors should find an important place as constituents of combination regimens. The entry of the first program into full preclinical development is an exciting step in the development of a novel therapy," Ken Powell, chief executive officer, said in the release.

Arrow Therapeutics, based in London, is focused exclusively on novel anti-infective drug discovery and development.

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