Antios Therapeutics Inc. and Assembly Biosciences Inc. have entered into a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate a triple combination treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
 
A single cohort in the ongoing Antios Phase 2a ANTT201 clinical trial will evaluate ATI-2173, Antios’ investigational proprietary active site polymerase inhibitor nucleotide (ASPIN), vebicorvir (VBR), Assembly Bio’s investigational lead core inhibitor candidate, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, a nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor.
 
The multi-center, double-blinded, placebo-controlled cohort will evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and antiviral activity of this all-oral triple combination. This cohort is expected to start in the first half of 2022 and will enroll 10 treatment naïve or off-treatment HBeAg negative or positive patients in a 12-week treatment study.
 
“Antios is focused on developing a functional cure for people living with chronic HBV. ATI-2173 has, to date, demonstrated a generally well-tolerated safety profile, leveraging a unique ASPIN mechanism in clinical development to empower combination therapy. Ultimately, ATI-2173 has the potential to become a cornerstone of a once-daily curative regimen in combination with other agents, like vebicorvir, for the treatment of chronic HBV,” said Gregory Mayes, chief executive officer of Antios.
 
“Our collaboration with Antios emphasizes our commitment to evaluating the backbone of our core inhibitors plus a nucleos(t)ide analogue in combination with other mechanisms to treat HBV, a cause of chronic infection that can lead to a higher risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer,” said John McHutchison, AO, MD, chief executive officer and president of Assembly Bio. “The commitment that we and Antios share to pursue finite and curative therapies for HBV unites us in these research efforts and offers hope for patients.”