Eiger Biopharmaceuticals enrolls first patient in trial for hepatitis D therapy

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announced the first patient enrollment in its phase 2 study of combination interferon lambda with ritonavir-boosted lonafarnib, according to a press release.

“Eiger is developing lonafarnib-based regimens alone and in combination with pegylated interferon-alfa as the first potential therapies for the treatment of HDV, and this program is advancing into phase 3 with the international, multi-center, D-LIVR study, planned to begin later this year,” David Apelian, MD, PhD, MBA, chief operating oficer and executive medical officer of Eiger, said in the press release. “Lambda represents a potentially better tolerated interferon for the treatment of HDV, and our goal is to expand future therapeutic options for patients with HDV infection.”

The LIFT (Lambda InterFeron combo-Therapy) open-label phase 2 study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of Lambda (pegylated interferon-lambda, Eiger BioPharmaceuticals) with combination of the company’s lonafarnib and AbbVie’s Norvir (ritonavir) in approximately 26 patients with HDV for 24 weeks.

Eiger recently received notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a patent claim on ritonavir-boosted lonafarnib for the treatment of hepatitis D.

“We have previously demonstrated in multiple studies at [National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)] that lonafarnib and ritonavir-boosted lonafarnib can decrease HDV RNA viral load in patients infected with HDV,” Christopher Koh, MD, principal investigator at the NIDDK, said in the release. “We have enrolled the first patient in LIFT, and now look forward to studying pegylated interferon lambda in combination with ritonavir-boosted lonafarnib."

Reference: www.eigerbio.com