Aligos Therapeutics Presents Combination-Based Approach for Treating Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) at HEP DART 2019
Oral Presentation on Combination Therapy Targeting CHB
Email Print Friendly Share
December 10, 2019 15:00 ET | Source: Aligos Therapeutics
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aligos Therapeutics, a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of targeted therapies for hepatologic diseases and viral infections, including chronic hepatitis B (CHB), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), today announced that chief executive officer Larry Blatt will deliver an invited oral presentation at HEP DART 2019 held on December 8 – 12, in Kauai, Hawaii.
Titled “Combination approaches towards a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B,” today’s presentation will detail Aligos’ overarching approach in developing multiple candidates to target clinically validated mechanisms for inhibiting the hepatitis B virus (HBV) life cycle, which comprise capsid assembly modulators (CAMs), S-antigen transport-inhibiting oligonucleotide polymers (STOPS™) and antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs).
“One key marker of functional cure in CHB is durable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg or S-antigen) loss following treatment, which is currently lacking in the CHB therapeutic space,” said Aligos chief executive officer Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., MBA. “Considering that a triple combination therapy is likely required to achieve high rates of functional cure, we have targeted essential components of the HBV life cycle, which include S-antigen secretion, genome replication and maintenance and viral transcription and translation. Aligos is developing a combination therapy including CAMs, STOPs and ASOs, each targeting one or more clinically validated pathways necessary for viral replication.”
Blatt continued, “We see an outstanding need in CHB for treatment regimens that are optimized for delivery, target engagement and safety. Our CAM candidate, ALG-000184, has picomolar potency and excellent oral pharmacokinetic properties, our STOP candidate, ALG-010133, can be delivered via subcutaneous administration and demonstrates the most potent in vitro anti-S-antigen activity to date. Our two-trigger ASO candidates target two conserved transcripts in HBV, providing an increased resistance barrier and better viral genotype coverage. These drug candidates are poised to deliver a best-in-class combination regimen resulting in high rates of functional cure for CHB.”