OctoPlus' Locteron sees good Ph I data

Leiden, the Netherlands-based drug delivery and development firm OctoPlus has reported strong results from a Phase I study of Locteron, its controlled-release formulation of alfa interferon for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

According to the firm, the Phase I findings, which will be presented at the 41st annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver Disease (EASL) meeting later this week in Vienna, Austria, show that a single dose of the agent is safe in healthy volunteers, as well as supporting findings that it could be effectively dosed once every two weeks, a substantial improvement over the current pegylated interferons that require dosing every week.

Locteron, which will enter Phase II studies in the second half of the year, is designed to be a best-in-class therapeutic for patients with chronic HCV infection, and has the potential to induce less side effects and to increase therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance compared with current therapies, the firm stated.