Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Announces Patent Protection for Lonafarnib Boosted with Ritonavir for Treatment of Hepatitis Delta Virus Infection in Europe and Japan
"This method of use patent covers lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir for the treatment of hepatitis delta virus infection, including specific doses and durations that we anticipate will appear on the first approved label," said
About Lonafarnib
Lonafarnib is a well-characterized, first-in-class, orally active inhibitor of farnesyl transferase, an enzyme involved in modification of proteins through a process called prenylation. HDV uses this host cell process inside liver cells to complete a key step in its life cycle. Lonafarnib inhibits the prenylation step of HDV replication inside liver cells and blocks the virus life cycle at the stage of assembly. Lonafarnib has been dosed in over 120 HDV-infected patients across international academic centers and is in Phase 3 development for HDV with a single, pivotal, international trial. Lonafarnib has been granted Orphan Drug designation by the
About Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV)
Hepatitis Delta is caused by infection with the hepatitis delta virus and leads to the most severe form of viral hepatitis. Hepatitis delta occurs only as a co-infection in individuals harboring hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis delta leads to more severe liver disease than HBV alone and is associated with accelerated liver fibrosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. Approved nucleos(t)ide treatments for HBV only suppress HBV DNA, do not affect HBsAg and have no impact on HDV. Investigational agents in development for HBV target functional cure, are not expected to eliminate extra-hepatic reservoirs of HBsAg and are thus not expected to impact HDV infection.
Hepatitis delta is a disease with a significant impact on global health, which may affect up to 15-20 million people worldwide. The prevalence of HDV varies among different parts of the world. Globally, HDV infection is reported to be present in approximately 4.3% to 5.7% of chronic Hepatitis B carriers. The prevalence of HDV in patients infected with chronic HBV is even higher in certain regions, including certain parts of
About Eiger
Eiger is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the accelerated development and commercialization of a pipeline of targeted therapies for rare and ultra-rare diseases. The company's lead program is in Phase 3, developing lonafarnib, a first-in-class, oral prenylation inhibitor for the treatment of Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) infection. The company is also preparing an NDA with plans to file in 2019 for lonafarnib in the treatment of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS or Progeria) and Progeroid Laminopathies. For additional information about Eiger, please visit www.eigerbio.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our future financial condition, timing for and outcomes of clinical results, business strategy and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements include terminology such as "believe," "will," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "contemplate," "intend," "target," "project," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "could," "potentially" or the negative of these terms. Forward looking statements are our current statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things, our ongoing and planned clinical development, including whether the scope of patent protection for lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir dosing regimens for the treatment of hepatitis delta virus infection will provide commercial protection for Eiger products; whether Eiger would be permitted to file an NDA based on PRF data and the timing and outcome of any
Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that Eiger makes, including the risks described in the "Risk Factors" sections in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
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