The clinical trial is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose trial lasting for four weeks followed by a voluntary open label period of up to eight additional weeks. The company expects approximately 100 patients to be enrolled. The clinical trial will be conducted at up to ten medical centers in the US.
The oral, small molecule drug candidate, CTS-1027, is being studied as a treatment for the inflammatory damage to the liver resulting from infection by HCV. CTS-1027 inhibits the activity of key members of a class of protease enzymes, the matrix metalloproteinases. CTS-1027 has been shown to be effective in multiple preclinical models of liver disease.
Steven Mento, president and CEO of Conatus, said: “We believe that CTS-1027 represents a novel approach to treating liver inflammation and look forward to developing this drug candidate to fill an important medical need in HCV-infected patients.”