Date: 2012-01-24
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: BL-8020 (ribavirin and hyydroxychloroquine)
Company: BiolineRx (Israel) Genoscience (France)
Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases
Type agreement: development
licensing
commercialisation
Action mechanism: nucleoside analog. BL-8020 is an orally available, fixed-dose combination treatment composed of ribavirin and hyydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which results in an improved version of ribavirin. BL-8020 acts via a unique mechanism of action, by inhibiting Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced autophagy, which differs from the mechanism of currently used anti- HCV agents. BL-8020\'s safety and efficacy were demonstrated in pre-clinical studies. These studies have shown that BL-8020, when combined with other anti-Hepatitis C virus (HCV) agents, has a synergistic effect. BL-8020\'s synergistic effect on other therapies is likely to increase their potency and reduce the numerous adverse effects often associated with these drugs, by enabling utilization of lower dosages. In addition BL-8020 may reduce therapy duration, which is currently up to 48 weeks. The use of two drugs acting by different mechanisms is also likely to be beneficial for patients who have developed resistance to current treatments and is an effective strategy used against other viruses such as HIV.
Disease: hepatitis C
Details: * On January 24, 2012, BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, has signed a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Genoscience, a French company focused on viral disease therapeutics, to develop and commercialize BL-8020, an orally available treatment for Hepatitis C. BL-8020 has been developed for anti-viral therapy by Professor Philippe Halfon, Co-Founder and President of Genoscience.
Financial terms:
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