Achillion has initiated dosing in a phase-I clinical trial of ACH-1625, a protease inhibitor for the treatment of hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection. ACH-1625 is a strong small molecule inhibitor of HCV protease.
The phase-I clinical trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. It is to investigat the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic profile and antiviral activity of ACH-1625, after single and multiple ascending oral doses in healthy volunteers and oral ascending repeat doses in hepatitis C infection.
Elizabeth Olek, Vice President and CMO of Achillion, said: This first-in-human clinical trial will be instrumental in establishing the safety profile of ACH-1625 in humans. Importantly, it will also provide Achillion with preliminary efficacy data and important dose selection information for subsequent Phase II trials. We believe ACH-1625 has the potential to offer a convenient dosing schedule and an improved safety and tolerability profile compared to currently available treatments for HCV-infected patients.