Arrow's HCV drug enters Ph I UK trial

Arrow Therapeutics, a London, UK-based antiviral drug discovery and development company, has initiated a Phase I study of A-831, its small-molecule inhibitor of hepatitis C infection. The UK study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single, escalating doses of the agent in healthy volunteers.

A-831 targets the NS5a protein, a novel mechanism of action, and is the first NS5a inhibitor to enter the clinic. The Arrow-originated HCV drug showed good safety and pharmacokinetics in preclinical studies and excellent potency in the replicon assay, the firm noted. A further Arrow compound, also targeting the NS5a protein but of a completely different chemical structure, is expected to enter preclinical development shortly.

The HCV therapeutics market was worth approximately $2.2 billion in 2005 and is forecast to grow substantially, to $4.4 billion by 2010 and $8.8 billion by 2015.