VIENNA, Austria--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In conjunction with an oral presentation at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Vienna, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced results from a Phase 1b clinical trial of the investigational oral hepatitis C virus (HCV) polymerase inhibitor, VX-222. In the trial, treatment with VX-222 for three days was well-tolerated, with all adverse events being mild to moderate in severity. Dosing with VX-222 for three days resulted in a greater than 3 log10 reduction in HCV RNA across all four of the VX-222 dosing groups. No serious adverse events or treatment discontinuations were reported in the Phase 1b trial. The results from this trial support the Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial of VX-222 dosed in combination with Vertex’s lead investigational HCV protease inhibitor telaprevir, which is expected to complete enrollment in the second quarter of 2010. Vertex retains worldwide rights to VX-222.
