Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Data Presentations At The 57th Annual Meeting Of The American Association For The Study Of Liver Diseases (AASLD)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of human viral and other infectious diseases, announced today that seven abstracts have been accepted for presentation at the 57th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) to be held in Boston, MA, October 27 to October 31, 2006. Full abstracts can now be viewed at the AASLD website at http://www.aasld.org.

Hepatitis B Abstracts

Dr. Ching-Lung Lai, Professor of Medicine and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, will present “Two-Year Results from the GLOBE Trial in Patients with Hepatitis B: Greater Clinical and Antiviral Efficacy for Telbivudine (LdT) vs. Lamivudine” in a Presidential Plenary session on Monday, October, 30, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. EST.

Dr. Adrian DiBisceglie, Associate Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, will present “Telbivudine GLOBE Trial: Maximal Early HBV Suppression is Predictive of Optimal Two-Year Efficacy in Nucleoside-Treated Hepatitis B Patients” in an oral session on Monday, October 30, 2006 at 3:45 p.m. EST.

Dr. Edward Gane, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, will present “A Randomized Trial of Telbivudine (LdT) vs. Lamivudine in Lamivudine Experienced Patients - Week 24 Primary Analysis” in a poster session on Monday, October 30, 2006.

Dr. Natalie Bzowej, Director of Clinical Hepatology Research at California Pacific Medical Center, will present “A Randomized Trial of Telbivudine (LdT) vs. Adefovir for HBeAg-Positive Chronic Hepatitis B: Final Week 52 Results” in a poster session on Monday, October 30, 2006.

Dr. Nikolai Naoumov, Consultant Physician at the Institute of Hepatology, University College London, England, will present “Impact Of Nucleoside Treatment On Antiviral T-Cell Reactivity In Chronic Hepatitis B: Major Differences Depending On Early Viral Suppression, HBeAg Status And HBV Genotype” in a poster session on Monday, October 30, 2006.

Dr. David Standring, Idenix’s Senior Vice President, Biology, will present “Telbivudine Phosphorylation by Three Enzymes: Implications for Anti-Hepatitis B Virus Activity In Vitro and in the Clinic” in a poster session on Monday, October, 30, 2006.

About Telbivudine

Telbivudine, an investigational agent for the treatment of hepatitis B, is currently under review for marketing approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Idenix has evaluated telbivudine in a two-year international phase III clinical trial referred to as the GLOBE study. The GLOBE study, in which 1,367 chronic hepatitis B patients were enrolled, compared 600 mg dose of telbivudine orally administered once a day to treatment once a day with 100 mg of lamivudine.

Safety Information About Telbivudine

The diverse nature and rate of occurrence of adverse events were similar between telbivudine-treated patients and lamivudine-treated patients. The most common adverse events for telbivudine and lamivudine, regardless of attributability, were upper respiratory infection, headache, fatigue and nasopharyngitis.

Grade 3-4 serum ALT elevations were more common in lamivudine-treated patients compared to telbivudine after week 24. Grade 3-4 creatine kinase (CK) elevations were more common with telbivudine compared to lamivudine by week 52.

Severe acute exacerbations of hepatitis B have been reported in patients who have discontinued anti-hepatitis B therapy. Hepatic function should be monitored closely with both clinical and laboratory follow-up for at least one year in patients who discontinue anti-hepatitis B therapy. If appropriate, resumption of anti-hepatitis B therapy may be warranted.

Hepatitis C Abstracts

Dr. Douglas Dieterich, Professor of Medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, will present “Valopicitabine (NM283) plus Peg-Interferon in Treatment-Naive Hepatitis C Patients with HCV Genotype-1 Infection: HCV RNA Clearance During 24 Weeks of Treatment” in a Presidential Plenary session on Monday, October 30, 2006 at 8:30 a.m. EST.

About Valopicitabine

Valopicitabine is an investigational HCV RNA polymerase inhibitor being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials for the treatment of hepatitis C.

Idenix/Novartis Collaboration

Idenix is developing its hepatitis B product candidates, telbivudine and valtoricitabine, and its hepatitis C clinical product candidate, valopicitabine, in collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG. The collaboration arrangement provides that, upon successful development and approval, Idenix and Novartis will co-promote licensed products in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. Novartis holds the exclusive license to commercialize licensed products in the rest of the world.

About Idenix

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, MA, is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of human viral and other infectious diseases. Idenix’s current focus is on the treatment of infections caused by hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). For further information about Idenix, please refer to http://www.idenix.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward- looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “currently under review,” “being evaluated,” “will,” “maybe,” or similar expressions or by express or implied discussions regarding the potential market approval of telbivudine and potential therapeutic benefits of telbivudine and valopicitabine. Such forward-looking statements are subject to numerous factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from the company’s current expectations. There can be no certainty that telbivudine will be approved for sale in the United States or other major markets or that the further clinical development of valopicitabine will be successful. In particular, management’s expectations could be affected by unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; uncertainties relating to results of clinical trials, including additional data from ongoing clinical trials evaluating telbivudine and valopicitabine; the company’s dependence on its collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG; the company’s ability to obtain additional funding required to conduct its research, development and commercialization activities; the ability of the company to attract and retain qualified personnel; and the company’s ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for telbivudine and valopicitabine. These and other risks are described in greater detail under the caption “Risk Factors” in the company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other filings that the company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements reflect the company’s expectations only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as reflecting the company’s views, expectations or beliefs at any date subsequent to the date of this release. Idenix anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause these views, expectations and beliefs to change. However, while Idenix may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals’ Contacts:

Media: Teri Dahlman (617) 995-9905

Investors: Amy Sullivan (617) 995-9838

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONTACT: Media: Teri Dahlman, +1-617-995-9905, or Investors: Amy Sullivan,+1-617-995-9838, both of Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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