MIGENIX INITIATES ENROLLMENT IN HEPATITIS STUDY

Migenix has initiated enrollment in a Phase IIb combination therapy clinical trial of celgosivir (MX-3253). Celgosivir is an orally administered, first-in-class alpha glucosidase 1 inhibitor, in development for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.

MX-3253 is currently the only oral anti-HCV drug in clinical development that acts through host-directed glycosylation. In preclinical studies, celgosivir has demonstrated strong synergy with interferon-alpha with and without ribavirin, and has the potential to be included as part of a combination therapeutic approach to improve efficacy and/or tolerability. A recently completed Phase IIa monotherapy study demonstrated that celgosivir was well-tolerated with some evidence of antiviral activity in treatment-naive chronic HCV patients.

The Phase IIb combination study of MX-3253 is a randomized, multicenter, active-controlled, 12 week evaluation of MX-3253 in three treatment arms of up to 20 chronic HCV "non-responder" patients.