B-MS' Baraclude shows efficacy in HCV trial

US pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb says that data from a 96-week clinical trial of its drug Baraclude (entecavir), a nuceloside analog with antiviral properties, shows that the drug brought about significant suppression of viral load in hepatitis B patients.

The Phase III trial, which was discussed at the Digestive Disease Week conference held in Los Angeles, USA, last month, compared the efficacy of Baraclude with lamivudine in lamivudine-refractory HBeAG-positive chronic HBV patients. The results showed that 94% of subjects in the Baraclude-treated group experienced undetectable viral load, versus 77% in the group receiving lamivudine. The firm added that viral rebound due to Baraclude resistance occurred in 9% of patients during the trial, requiring the use of LVD-resistance substitution therapy.