Ahead of Rivals, Arrowhead Unveils Clinical Data for Hepatitis B Drug
Summary
Ahead of Rivals, Arrowhead Unveils Clinical Data for Hepatitis B Drug Xconomy Wisconsin — Arrowhead Research (NASDAQ: ARWR) released data Thursday showing humans and chimpanzees treated with the company’s hepatitis B virus (HBV) candidate during Phase IIa clinical trials had significantly lower levels of antigens.This interference is also known as “gene silencing.” According to the World Health Organization, more than 360 million people globally are chronically infected with HBV and about 620,000 die from the virus each year.CEO Chris Anzalone says Arrowhead is further along in clinical trials than any other company developing a RNAi-based treatment for HBV.One group of HBV patients who tested positive for the E-antigen received a background treatment, followed by a single dose of ARC-520.It figures to be the most important stage yet because the company has said the drug will be a multi-dose therapy and all trials through Phase IIa have been single-dose.