A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress 2024 has reported positive results for the use of bulevirtide 10 mg in combination with pegylated interferon alfa-2a (PegIFN) in treating chronic hepatitis delta (HDV).
The Phase 2b MYR204 trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of bulevirtide, both as monotherapy and in combination with PegIFN. At 24 weeks after the end of treatment (EOT), 46% of patients who received bulevirtide 10 mg with PegIFN had undetectable HDV RNA levels, significantly higher than the 12% achieved with bulevirtide 10 mg monotherapy.
Follow-up data presented at EASL showed that at 48 weeks after EOT, the combination of bulevirtide 10 mg and PegIFN maintained a 46% undetectable HDV RNA rate. This suggests the potential of this combination as a finite therapy for adults with chronic HDV.
HDV is a severe form of viral hepatitis that affects approximately 5% of people with chronic hepatitis B. Bulevirtide 2 mg is currently the only approved treatment for chronic HDV in Europe and other regions, but bulevirtide 10 mg is still under investigation.
The safety profile of bulevirtide in combination with PegIFN was generally consistent with that of the individual components. Most adverse events were mild to moderate, with leukopenia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia being the most common.
Jon Napitupulu is Director of Media Relations at The Clinical Trial Vanguard. Jon, a computer data scientist, focuses on the latest clinical trial industry news and trends.
