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REHOVOT, Israel and NEW IPSWICH, N.H., July 3 /PRNewswire/ --
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (LSE: XTL) today announced
the commencement of Phase I clinical studies with XTL-002, its human
monoclonal antibody (mAb) being developed for the treatment of hepatitis C
virus (HCV) infections. The study, being conducted in Israel, is expected to
enroll 15 patients and is designed to test safety, tolerability and
changes in viral levels in chronic hepatitis C patients. The trial is
being conducted following Food and Drug Administration (FDA, United States)
and Ministry of Health (Israel) approvals.
XTL-002 is a fully human high-affinity monoclonal
antibody which was shown to reduce viral levels of the HCV virus in XTL's
proprietary in vivo model. The Company's HCV Trimera(XTL) model is being
used in conjunction with a variety of corporate and academic partners to
screen and evaluate novel compounds to treat HCV.
HCV is a major cause of chronic hepatitis in the United States
and is a leading cause of liver transplantation. An estimated 4
million individuals are infected with HCV in the United States and the
World Health Organization estimates that 170 million people are
infected
worldwide. Approximately 85% of HCV infected persons
will develop
chronic hepatitis, of which 20% will progress to liver
cirrhosis. The number of deaths attributable to HCV is expected to triple in the next
10 to 20
years.
Martin Becker, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of
XTL, said: "This is our third monoclonal antibody and
second clinical programme to
enter human studies for the treatment of viral hepatitis,
clearly
establishing XTL as a leader in the discovery and development
of
therapeutics for these life-threatening chronic
diseases."
Notes:
XTL Biopharmaceuticals develops novel therapeutics to treat life-threatening infectious diseases using fully human
monoclonal antibodies and small molecule drugs. XTL's competitive
advantage lies
in its ability to leverage both its proprietary human
tissue-based in vivo
disease models and fully human monoclonal antibodies to
validate and
develop promising drug candidates. The Company's growing
pipeline of
therapies, designed to combat chronic viral infections,
drug-resistant
bacteria and serious systemic fungal infections, comprises
internally
developed products as well as those being co-developed with a
number of
biopharmaceutical partners.
SOURCE XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
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