Arbutus up after hours on encouraging data on HBV candidate AB-506

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) perks up 3% after hours in reaction to positive data from a Phase 1a/1b clinical trial evaluating HBV capsid inhibitor AB-506 in healthy volunteers and two cohorts with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

In the healthy subjects, no serious treatment-related adverse events were reported. Liver function test remained normal throughout the 10-day dosing period.

In the hepatitis B groups, mean HBV DNA decreased 100-fold to ~630-fold (160 mg, 400 mg doses) at day 28 while HBV RNA decreased ~250-fold in both dose cohorts.

On the safety front, four HBV subjects experienced life-threatening flares in the liver enzyme ALT (biomarker for liver damage) which returned to baseline after treatment was completed or discontinued. Another liver enzyme, AST, spiked to a lesser degree. None met the criteria for induced liver injury since bilirubin and liver synthetic function remained normal.

Detailed results will be submitted for presentation at a future scientific conference.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3477899-arbutus-3-percent-hours-encouraging-data-hbv-candidate-abminus-506