ViroPharma and Wyeth start Ph II trial of HCV antiviral

USA-based biopharmaceutical company ViroPharma says that it has begun patient dosing in a Phase II trial of HCV-796, an oral hepatitis C viral polymerase inhibitor that interrupts the virus' replication. The program, which is being conducted in partnership with US drug major Wyeth, is designed to assess the agent's safety, tolerability and antiviral activity.

ViroPharma added that the study will examine HCV-796 in combination with pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin, the standard therapy, in treatment-naive HCV genotype 1 infected individuals, as well as in those who have not responded to prior therapy. The combined regimen will be compared with pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin, the current standard treatment approach.

The company went on to say that it would initially seek to enroll 267 patients into the randomized, open-label study, who would then be divided into various groups either receiving the standard treatment alone, or this plus 500mg HCV-796 every 12 hours, for an initial period of 12 weeks.