Benzinga | Jun 29, 2021 07:29AM EDT

Arbutus Biopharma And Antios Therapeutics Announce Clinical Collaboration Agreement To Evaluate AB-729 In Combination With ATI-2173 In Subjects With Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Antios Therapeutics, Inc. and Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS) today announced that the companies have entered into a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate a triple combination of Arbutus' proprietary GalNAc delivered RNAi therapeutic, AB-729, Antios' proprietary active site polymerase inhibitor nucleotide (ASPIN), ATI-2173, and Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), for the treatment of subjects with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

ATI-2173, AB-729 and Viread will be evaluated in combination in a single cohort in the ongoing Antios Phase 2a ANTT201 clinical trial. The multi-center, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose cohort will evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and antiviral activity of the combination of ATI-2173, AB-729 and Viread. This cohort is expected to initiate in the second half of 2021. Antios will be responsible for the costs of adding this single cohort to its ongoing clinical trial. Arbutus will be responsible for the manufacture and supply of AB-729.

"This collaboration with Antios advances our efforts to position AB-729 as a potential cornerstone therapeutic in future HBV combination regimens and reflects our conviction that a combination of agents with complementary mechanisms of action is needed to cure chronic HBV," stated William Collier, Chief Executive Officer at Arbutus."

Greg Mayes, Chief Executive Officer of Antios said, "ATI-2173 has, to date, demonstrated a well-tolerated safety profile and sustained on- and off-treatment antiviral responses as a monotherapy in patients with chronic HBV. We believe that its unique mechanism of action and early evidence of clinical activity may position ATI-2173 as the backbone of a once-daily curative regimen in combination with other agents for chronic HBV. Our collaboration with Arbutus will test that hypothesis in combination with AB-729, an RNAi drug candidate, and Viread, a nucleotide analogue."