TRANSITION THERAPEUTICS RELEASES DATA FROM HEPATITIS C TRIAL

Transition Therapeutics has released 12-week data from an open-label, multicenter Phase I/II trial evaluating the interferon-enhancing product, HCV-I.E.T., in hepatitis C non-responders. The trial was designed to evaluate safety and HCV-I.E.T.'s ability to produce a positive therapeutic response in patients who have failed to respond to previous treatment with current hepatitis C therapies consisting of pegylated interferon and ribavirin. HCV-I.E.T. combines Transition's interferon enhancer, EMZ702, with the current standard of care for hepatitis C, a combination therapy of pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin. The study data demonstrated that 28 percent of the hepatitis C non-responder patients had a greater than 99 percent reduction of virus levels.

The patients in the study received twice-weekly doses of EMZ702 along with a combination pegylated interferon and ribavirin product for 12 weeks. The dose escalation of EMZ702 was as follows: 500 mg for week one, 1,000 mg for week two and 1,500 mg for the remaining 10 weeks. Participating patients are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV genotype 1) and have previously failed to respond to treatment with a pegylated interferon plus ribavirin product.