Clinical stage biopharmaceutical development company BioLineRx, Ltd.(BLRX) Monday said it has enrolled its first patient in a Phase I/II trial for BL-8020, an orally available, interferon-free treatment for the Hepatitis C virus. The patient was enrolled at the Hôpital Cochin in Paris, France.
The study is expected to be conducted at two clinical sites in France and include up to 32 HCV-infected patients of any genotype who have previously failed or relapsed following treatment with the standard-of-care. The primary endpoint of the study is to evaluate the effect of a 16-week combination therapy with Ribavirin and HCQ, said the firm and added that BL-8020's safety and efficacy have been demonstrated in a number of pre-clinical studies.
Commenting on the development, Dr. Kinneret Savitsky, CEO of BioLineRx said, "... Based on its pre-clinical results, unique mechanism of action and synergistic effect with other anti-HCV compounds, we are very hopeful that BL-8020 will indeed enhance the activity of other available Hepatitis C treatments, thereby improving Hepatitis C care. We look forward to the partial results from the Phase I/II trial expected towards the end of 2013."
Hepatitis C infection is a blood-borne infection of the liver caused by the Hepatitis C virus which becomes chronic in about 85 percent of cases.
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