HUMAN GENOME SCIENCES REPORTS ALBUFERON DATA

Human Genome Sciences has announced 12-week interim data from a Phase IIb clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Albuferon (albumin-interferon alpha 2b) in combination with ribavirin in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who are naive to interferon alpha-based treatment regimens. The results to date demonstrate that Albuferon in combination with ribavirin was safe, well tolerated and showed robust antiviral activity.

The trial is a randomized, open-label, multicenter, active-controlled, dose-ranging study being conducted in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Poland and Romania. A total of 458 patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 have been enrolled and randomized into four treatment groups, three of which receive subcutaneously administered Albuferon (900 mcg at 14-day intervals, 1200 mcg at 14-day intervals, and 1200 mcg at 28-day intervals(13)). The fourth treatment group serves as the active control group and receives 180-mcg doses of subcutaneously administered peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) at 7-day intervals.