Venatorx Pharmaceuticals Expands Anti-Infective Portfolio with HBV Candidate
Published: Mar 10, 2021
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March 10, 2021 15:00 UTC
VNRX-9945 Selected as 3rd Generation Hepatitis B Virus Orally Bioavailable CpAM; Clinical Trial Application and Phase 1 Planned for Second Quarter 2021
MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Venatorx Pharmaceuticals today announced that it has selected VNRX-9945, a core protein allosteric modulator (CpAM), as a clinical candidate for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection. The Company plans to initiate clinical development in the second quarter 2021.
VNRX-9945 is a 3rd generation (highly potent), dual-mechanism viral replication inhibitor with activity against both nucleocapsid assembly and formation of cccDNA. VNRX-9945 demonstrates broad antiviral activity against multiple HBV genotypes in vitro and suppresses HBV DNA to below the lower limit of qualification in a mouse model of HBV infection.
There are over 250 million individuals chronically infected with chronic HBV worldwide who are at risk from complications due to liver disease and liver cancer. Chronic HBV infection is currently managed with nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NrtIs) or pegylated-interferons that suppress HBV DNA replication and normalize alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels leading to reductions in morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, however, these agents are not curative and patients generally exhibit poor off-treatment responses that require indefinite therapy.
“Functional cure for chronic HBV infection remains the ultimate goal of HBV therapy,” said Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D., President and CEO of Venatorx. “The discovery and advancement of highly potent CpAMs, including VNRX-9945, represents an exciting opportunity to achieve deeper and more complete levels of antiviral suppression in chronic HBV patients, and has the potential to form the basis for future combination therapies that lead to a functional cure.”
“We have been actively pursuing next-generation CpAMs that could be included in a future combination regimen for the treatment of chronic HBV infection,” said Dr. Glen Coburn, Director of Virology at Venatorx. “Using a structure-assisted drug design approach, we identified VNRX-9945, a compound that exhibits antiviral activity that is amongst the best-in-class and possesses excellent oral bioavailability and safety properties. We look forward to facilitating the inclusion of VNRX-9945 in future combination regimens. Combining direct-acting antivirals with agents that knockdown antigen expression or stimulate immune responses may hold the key to optimizing treatment outcomes in patients with chronic HBV infection.”
Venatorx is pursuing mutually beneficial partnership and/or collaboration opportunities for VNRX-9945.作者: StephenW 时间: 2021-3-11 10:26
Venatorx总裁兼首席执行官Christopher J. Burns博士说：“功能性治愈慢性HBV感染仍然是HBV治疗的最终目标。” “包括VNRX-9945在内的强效CpAM的发现和发展，为在慢性HBV患者中获得更深，更完整的抗病毒抑制水平提供了令人振奋的机会，并有可能为将来的联合治疗奠定基础功能治愈。”