Arrow Therapeutics HCV Compound Enters Phase I

Arrow Therapeutics HCV Compound Enters Phase I

November 27, 2006

    LONDON, Nov. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Arrow
Therapeutics, the London based antiviral drug discovery and
development company, has announced that it has initiated a
Phase I study of A-831, a small molecule antiviral
inhibitor of Hepatitis C infection. The study will evaluate
the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single
escalating doses of A-831 in healthy volunteers in the UK.

    A-831 targets the NS5a protein, a novel mechanism of
action, and is the first NS5a inhibitor to enter the
clinic. Originating from Arrow's focused chemical library
and optimised in-house, A-831 showed good safety and
pharmacokinetics in preclinical studies and excellent
potency in the replicon assay. A-831 is the first compound
from Arrow's broad approach to the NS5a target. A further
Arrow compound, also targeting the NS5a protein but of a
completely different chemical structure, is expected to
enter preclinical development shortly.

    The urgent need for novel Hepatitis C inhibitors has
been well documented, with an estimated 170 million
sufferers worldwide. The current Standard of Care treatment
(Pegylated Interferon + ribavirin) has a poor side effect
profile and is only effective in around 50% of patients. As
with HIV/AIDS, multiple drugs in combination therapy are
likely to be needed to overcome drug resistance. The value
of the Hepatitis C market was approximately $2.2 billion in
2005 and is forecast to grow substantially to $4.4 billion
in 2010 and $8.8 billion in 2015.

    "The start of the first clinical trial for a
compound from our Hepatitis C programme is a significant
milestone for the company," said Ken Powell, CEO of
Arrow. "From the inception of Arrow we have been
committed to producing potent, innovative inhibitors of
Hepatitis C and believe that compounds such as A-831 will
bring us a step closer to successfully treating the huge
number of patients suffering from the virus worldwide.
Preclinical results for A-831 have been extremely
encouraging and we look forward to this next stage of
development for the compound, as well as the advancement of
other compounds within our Hepatitis C programmes."

    Notes to Editors

    Arrow Therapeutics

    Arrow Therapeutics was founded in 1998, and is focused
exclusively on novel antiviral drug discovery and
development. Based in central London with around 55
employees, the product pipeline includes novel antiviral
lead and clinical compounds. Arrow's lead programme to
treat Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is in Phase lla
clinical studies and is partnered with Novartis. The
Hepatitis C programme consists of multiple series from
different chemical classes. The most advanced compounds
inhibit NS5a, a novel viral target. The lead compound,
A-831, has now entered Phase I trials (see above). A second
series, of completely different chemical structure but also
targeting NS5a, is at candidate selection stage. Arrow also
has a Hepatitis C polymerase programme in lead
optimisation.

    Compounds will be licensed at stages between
preclinical and Phase IIb depending on the therapeutic
area.

    Seed funding of GBP1.5 million was provided by Unibio
of London who also invested in the first major funding
round completed in July 2000 along with GIMV Belgium
(lead), Alta Partners USA, 3i Group London, TVM Munich, and
NVM Edinburgh which brought in GBP11.1 million. The same
group provided a further GBP7 million in January 2002. The
latest funding round was completed in early 2004 raising
over GBP23 million from the USA, Japan and Europe. Atlas
Venture is now the lead investor.

    http://www.arrowt.co.uk

    For more information, please contact:

     Ken Powell, CEO, 
     Arrow Therapeutics Ltd
     Tel:   [phone]

     Annie Clayton, 
     Investor Relations & Marketing, 
     Arrow Therapeutics Ltd
     Tel:   [phone]

SOURCE  Arrow Therapeutics Ltd