Medivir’s antiviral MIV-210 (FLG) inhibits hepatitis B virus (HBV) which is resistant to currently marketed antivirals.

The March edition of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy features a report by Professor Fabian Zoulim and his colleagues at INSERM in Lyon, France that Medivir’s antiviral MIV-210 (FLG) in laboratory assays is active against lamivudine- and adefovir-resistant HBV. Lamivudine and adefovir are currently used in treatment of HBV patients, but both lead to the development of resistance, thereby losing their therapeutic efficacy. The newly published results therefore show that HBV which has developed resistance against both lamivudine and adefovir is inhibited by MIV-210 (FLG). Several HBV antivirals in clinical development give the same resistance profile as lamivudine. The newly published results indicate that the two polymerase inhibitors MIV-210 (FLG) and adefovir block the HBV polymerase by different mechanisms. The authors consider that MIV-210 (FLG) should be suitable both for treatment of drug-resistant HBV, but also as first-line therapy together with e.g. adefovir in order to minimize the risk of resistance development and to enhance the therapeutic efficacy. In previously published trials, chronically HBV-infected woodchucks have been treated with lamivudine, adefovir or MIV-210 (FLG), and MIV-210 (FLG) has shown superior antiviral efficacy. Hepatitis B is a very common form of jaundice, in need of better treatment alternatives than those currently available. Sales of HBV pharmaceuticals are growing strongly and are expected to reach USD 1 billion annually by the year 2010. MIV-210 (FLG) is also active against HIV which has a polymerase which resembles the HBV polymerase. Phase IIa clinical trials with MIV-210 (FLG) are currently underway in HIV patients. These trials are shortly expected to be ready for result evaluation, as a basis for the project’s future clinical strategy. MIV-210 is one of the projects whose outlicensing or divestment is administered by Medivir HIV Franchise AB.