Abbott To Present Positive Phase 2 Results From Multiple Interferon-Free Studies Of Combination Regimens For The Treatment Of Hepatitis C

ABBOTT PARK Ill., April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) will present clinical trial results from two different interferon-free, Phase 2 studies for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) at the International Liver Congress™ 2012 (ILC 2012), the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), April 18-22 in Barcelona, Spain.  Abstracts for the meeting were published online today.

In the study known as "Co-Pilot," different doses of ABT-450/r, plus ABT-333 and ribavirin administered for 12 weeks showed sustained virological response at 12 weeks post treatment (SVR12) in 95 percent and 93 percent of treatment-naive genotype 1 (GT1) patients. In these patients, response was independent of HCV subtype, host IL28B genotype or dose of ABT-450/r. In addition, SVR12 was achieved in 47 percent of patients who were previous non-responders to past HCV treatment.

In a separate study, known as "Pilot," 91 percent of genotype 1 infected, treatment-naive patients taking ABT-450/r and ABT-072 combined with ribavirin administered for 12 weeks, achieved sustained viral response at 24 weeks (SVR24). 

Full results with longer-term follow-up data from both studies will be presented at the meeting. Abstracts are available at www.easl.eu.

"We are extremely encouraged to see this level of sustained response with only 12 weeks of therapy in patients who were new to treatment, and to see a response in patients who had failed past treatment because options to cure this population are limited," said Fred Poordad, M.D., chief of hepatology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and the lead investigator for Co-Pilot and an investigator for Pilot.  "These data suggest that an interferon-free, all-oral regimen of direct-acting antiviral medications could be an important new treatment option for HCV, and we look forward to presenting additional data at the meeting."

"At this meeting, Abbott will present some of the first sustained viral response data for short course, interferon-free regimens for the treatment of HCV. The data suggest that with a 12-week regimen containing just two of our direct-acting antiviral medicines, and no peginterferon, we can achieve high cure rates in treatment-naive, genotype 1 patients," said Scott Brun, M.D., divisional vice president, Infectious Disease Development, Abbott. "Abbott's HCV pipeline includes several compounds in different drug classes and we have the flexibility to study a variety of multi-drug regimens for HCV, with a focus on interferon-free treatments. Abbott is committed to exploring a wide variety of options in our portfolio with the goal of developing optimized regimens to help patients."

Current treatments for HCV remain interferon-based and a significant number of HCV patients are unable or unwilling to take interferon due to contraindications and/or side effects. Specifically targeted antiviral therapies for HCV, such as protease inhibitors and non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors, may have the potential to increase the proportion of patients in whom the virus can be eradicated.

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