By thinking outside the box, the Denmark-based company Santaris Pharma A/S has developed a drug targeting a specific molecule necessary for Hepatitis C replication. Although a very small trial, SPC3649 demonstrates a significant Hepatitis C viral load decline in primates.
New Hepatitis C Treatment Shows Promise
Drug prevented virus from replicating in the livers of primates
By Jennifer Thomas
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) — A new drug to treat hepatitis C has shown promise in a primate study.
The drug, called SPC3649, uses a new strategy to prevent the hepatitis C virus from replicating. Unlike other antivirals that target the virus itself, the new DNA-based drug targets a small RNA molecule in the liver that hepatitis C needs to replicate, the researchers explained.
By inhibiting the molecule, SPC3649 reduced hepatitis C virus levels in the liver and in the bloodstream in chimpanzees that received the highest dose by 350-fold.
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