PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pharmasset, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRUS - News) has commenced dosing in Phase 3 registration clinical trials of clevudine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Clevudine is an oral, once-daily pyrimidine nucleoside analog that has previously been evaluated in 14 clinical trials in more than 800 individuals. The current Phase 3 studies will be conducted in 856 nucleoside treatment- naive patients with chronic HBV at approximately 140 global clinical sites to support the registration of clevudine in the Americas and Europe. Pharmasset licensed these territories from Bukwang Pharmaceuticals, who recently received South Korean regulatory approval and began marketing clevudine in South Korea under the brand name Levovir. As a result of the initiation of these studies, Pharmasset will pay Bukwang a $1.0 million milestone payment.
