Achillion Announces Initiation of Phase 1 Trial of ACH-2928 for the Treatment of Hepatitis C

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ACHN today announced that it has begun dosing in a Phase 1 clinical trial of ACH-2928, a NS5A inhibitor, being developed for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection. The Phase 1 clinical study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic profile and antiviral activity of ACH-2928. The trial consists of three segments, including assessment of single ascending oral doses in healthy volunteers, a 5-day multiple ascending doses segment in healthy volunteers, and evaluation of 3 days of oral ascending repeat doses in subjects with genotype 1 hepatitis C infection. The trial will take place in the United States and is designed to enroll approximately 48 healthy volunteers and 20 HCV genotype 1 treatment naive patients. "This clinical trial with our first NS5A inhibitor aims to provide us with a substantial amount of information regarding the safety and tolerability of ACH-2928, as well as insight into its potential activity against HCV genotypes 1a and 1b," commented Elizabeth A. Olek, D.O., Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Achillion.