Clinical Trials

Date: 2016-11-09

Type of information: Halting of the trial

phase: 2

Announcement: halting of the trial

Company: Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (USA - CA)

Product: ARC-520

Action mechanism:

• RNAi/siRNA. ARC-520 is a small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in ARC-520 intervene at the mRNA level, upstream of the reverse transcription process where current standard of care nucleotide and nucleoside analogues act. Arrowhead is investigating ARC-520 specifically to determine if it can be used to achieve a functional cure, which is an immune clearant state characterized by hepatitis B s-antigen negative serum with or without seroconversion.

Disease: hepatitis B

Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases

Country: USA

Trial details:

• Heparc-2004 is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-dose study of ARC-520, which is currently being performed in up to 12 patients in the United States under an Investigational New Drug (IND). (NCT02452528)

Latest news:

• • On November 9, 2016, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals provided an update on its Heparc-2004 clinical study of ARC-520, its therapeutic candidate under clinical investigation for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Arrowhead was notified verbally by the FDA of its decision to place a clinical hold on Heparc-2004. The study is on hold while the company provides responses to questions arising from a nonclinical toxicology study in non-human primates using EX1, the company's liver-targeted, intravenously administered delivery vehicle. The FDA did not indicate the clinical hold was based on any human findings. To date, EX1 has been administered over 800 times in more than 300 human study subjects and patients. Across this substantial clinical experience, only 3 serious adverse events (SAE) have been observed. Two of these were fevers, treated with acetaminophen, after which the patients continued on the study with no further complications. The other SAE was an instance of hepatic carcinoma in a patient with chronic HBV and cirrhosis, judged by the treating physician to be unrelated to the drug. A small minority (6%) of infusions in ARC-520 studies have been associated with infusion reactions, with 4 patients discontinuing ARC-520 treatment. In addition, across the ARC-520, ARC-521, and ARC-AAT clinical programs, laboratory values have not been deemed indicative of any drug-induced organ toxicity. Arrowhead has not yet received written notice of the clinical hold from the FDA ; however, based on verbal communications the clinical hold was prompted by deaths at the highest dose of an ongoing non-human primate toxicology study. This study involves higher doses of EX1 than those used clinically in humans and higher than those used in the company's previous animal toxicology studies. The cause of these animal deaths is unknown and under investigation. The EX1 delivery vehicle is used in the company's ARC-520, ARC-521, and ARC-AAT programs. Arrowhead remains committed to working collaboratively with regulatory authorities worldwide. The company has disseminated data from the same animal study to agencies across our development programs and is providing updates as appropriate. The company believes the findings in animal toxicology studies are related to dose level, and that the safety profile seen in human clinical studies across the three programs involving EX1 supports continuing all ongoing clinical studies.•

Is general: Yes