PRESS RELEASES

To receive all future Arrow press releases please click here.

To view AstraZeneca press releases please click here.

Arrow Therapeutics selects a further Hepatitis C clinical candidate

Arrow Therapeutics, the London based antiviral drug discovery and development company, has announced that a further Hepatitis C compound, A-689, has entered full preclinical development.

A-689 is the second compound from Arrow's broad approach to the NS5a target to enter development. November 2006 saw Arrow's first Hepatitis C compound, A-831, enter Phase I trials. Both compounds target the novel NS5a protein but have completely different chemical structures and bind to the target at different sites.

Once again A-689 originates from Arrow's focused chemical library and was optimised in-house. The compound has shown highly potent activity in the replicon assay and has an excellent therapeutic index and good pharmacokinetic properties. Phase I trials on A-689 are planned for the second half of 2007.

The urgent need for novel Hepatitis C inhibitors has been well documented, with an estimated 170 million sufferers worldwide. The current Standard of Care treatment (Pegylated Interferon + ribavirin) has a poor side effect profile and is only effective in around 50% of patients. As with HIV/AIDS, multiple drugs in combination therapy are likely to be needed to overcome drug resistance. The value of the Hepatitis C market was approximately $2.2 billion in 2005 and is forecast to grow substantially to $4.4 billion in 2010 and $8.8 billion in 2015.

Arrow's CEO, Ken Powell, speaks of his delight at the recent advancements made within the programme, “Since the inception of Arrow, we have been committed to the Hepatitis C field. With A-831 already in Phase I trials and now A-689 entering preclinical development, we are beginning to realise our aims for a broad pipeline of Hepatitis C inhibitors. We regard both our compounds as ideal components of the multiple drug combinations likely to be required to successfully treat this virus with its tendency to mutate and to resist new agents”.

LATEST NEWS

Press Release Archive