::: HCV News :::

Nine hundred of the world's hepatitis C experts are meeting in Glasgow this week to discuss the latest research into the disease at the 14th International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and Related Viruses.

Among more than 400 studies being discussed, it will be revealed that scientists working on hepatitis C have discovered a powerful new drug, which has been shown to inhibit the virus in laboratory tests. The research findings represent an early but promising step towards treating the 170 million people worldwide estimated to be infected with hepatitis C.

The compound, developed by Arrow Therapeutics, has already successfully cleared Phase I clinical trials and Phase II trials are due to begin in the coming months.

Clinicians and scientists from around the world attending the conference will tackle a broad range of topics including fundamental research on the virus, the diseases that result from long-term infection and new approaches to eradicate or counter the effects of hepatitis C. Presentations on possible new anti-viral agents are expected to be among the most exciting sessions of the 5-day event, being held in the UK for the first time.

An estimated 285,000 people in the UK are infected, and around 9,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Scotland has the highest infection levels of hep C in the UK, with a particularly high prevalence rate in Glasgow. Currently, there is no vaccine to protect against infection.

In an effort to ensure that the research presented at the conference reaches people living with the infection, organisers have given free access and exhibition space to a number of hep C patient support groups, including Glasgow-based C-Level and national groups Mainliners and The Hepatitis C Trust.

"Estimates suggest that there are four times more people infected with hepatitis C compared to HIV in the UK. Many people remain undiagnosed and are unaware of the possibility that they could develop serious liver complications arising from the virus" explained virus expert and conference organizer, Dr John McLauchlan who heads one of the two hepatitis C research programmes at the MRC Virology Unit in Glasgow. "The presence of such a high profile, international event in Scotland gives us the opportunity to draw the public's attention to this deadly virus, and the ongoing need for research into how we can combat it."

The 14th International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and Related Viruses takes place in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall from 9 - 13 September 2007. Further information on the conference is available at www.hcv2007.com

A team at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization has produced a vaccine candidate that decreased the amount of a carrier virus expressing hepatitis C virus -- HCV -- protein in mice by 100,000 times compared to the control.

The study was published in this month's Journal of General Virology.

"This technique uses the body's own cells, called dendritic cells, to vaccinate against hepatitis C," said Bhagirath Singh, scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Dendritic cells are key components of the immune system, activating and shaping the immune response.

"The vaccine reduced the amount of hepatitis C protein in a highly significant manner," said Singh. "This offers a very promising approach to prevent liver disease caused by the virus and to ultimately eliminate it from the body."

HCV is the leading cause for liver transplants in the Western world, and its annual death toll is expected to triple in the next 10 years, the study said.

10th September 2007
By Sarah Routledge

Pharmasset has reported preliminary safety and potent antiviral activity with its investigational drug following 14 days of monotherapy in 40 patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus who had failed prior interferon therapy.

The candidate, R7128, is a prodrug of PSI-6130, an oral cytidine nucleoside analog polymerase inhibitor of HCV that is being developed through Pharmasset's collaboration with Roche. The Phase I multiple ascending dose study of R7128 was designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary antiviral activity.

R7128 demonstrated potent, dose-dependent antiviral activity across the four patient cohorts receiving 750mg or 1500mg administered either once-daily or twice-daily for 14 days as monotherapy. The greatest mean decrease in HCV RNA from baseline was demonstrated in the patient cohort that received 1,500mg twice-daily, the highest dose of R7128 administered in this study. These patients demonstrated a mean 2.7 log10 IU/mL (>99%) decrease in HCV RNA. There was no evidence of viral rebound in any dose cohort during the 14 days of dosing.

R7128 was generally safe and well tolerated in this Phase I multiple ascending dose study. There were no serious adverse events, no adverse events requiring dose modification, no dose-related gastrointestinal adverse events and no clinically significant changes in vital signs, electrocardiograms, hematologic, renal or other laboratory parameters.

Based on the results of this study, Pharmasset and Roche plan to initiate a 28-day study of R7128 in combination with Pegasys (pegylated interferon) plus Copegus (ribavirin) in treatment-naive patients chronically infected with HCV genotype 1. Patient recruitment for this combination study is expected to begin in late September 2007