Roche Discontinues Development of RG7907 the Phase II Candidate for Hepatitis B Cure

Roche reported discontinuation of the development of the hepatitis B candidate, RG7907, a core protein allosteric modulator that is also known as RO7049389.

Roche took the drug candidate into midphase development in 2020 on the strength of evidence the small molecule inhibits replication of the virus by disrupting the assembly of its nucleocapsids and inducing the depletion of functional core proteins (HBV capsid assembly inhibitor).
After reviewing phase 1 data in 2019, Roche felt the candidate could be part of a combination of drug molecules capable of curing hepatitis B infection. Three years later, Roche has dropped the prospect. The action comes months after the completion of a phase 1 trial and during a phase 2 study set up to test the candidate in two combinations.

Roche continues investigation of the multi-regimen phase 2 Hepatitis B cure in multiple combinations of other candidates, such as the siRNA prospect RG6346, which uses technology from Novo Nordisk’s Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, and the TLR7 agonist RG7854.

Fonte: press release