$ACHN Initiates 12-Week Dosing in Phase 2 Trial of ACH-1625 for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C

Achillion Initiates 12-Week Dosing in Phase 2 Trial of ACH-1625 for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C - MarketWatch:

"NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jun 22, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ACHN -0.83% today announced that the Company has initiated patient dosing in segment 2 of its Phase 2 clinical trial of ACH-1625 for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) for genotype 1 treatment naïve HCV-infected patients. ACH-1625, discovered and advanced by Achillion, is a potent small molecule inhibitor of HCV protease, an enzyme necessary for viral replication.
The clinical trial has advanced into the second segment of a Phase 2a, randomized, double-blind trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and antiviral activity of oral ACH-1625 in combination with standard of care (SOC) consisting of pegylated interferon alfa-2a and ribavirin. Patients will be randomized to receive once daily doses of 200 mg, 400 mg or 800 mg of ACH-1625 in combination with SOC for 12 weeks of dosing. Patients will continue to receive an additional 12 weeks of pegylated interferon alfa-2a and ribavirin and eligible to discontinue treatment at week 24 if they achieve extended rapid virologic response (eRVR) at week 12. Patients who do not achieve an eRVR will continue to receive SOC until week 48.
The trial will take place in the United States and Europe and is designed to enroll approximately 60 HCV-infected patients. The 12-week complete early virologic response (cEVR) trial results are anticipated to be announced in the fourth quarter of 2011."