Christopher Koh, Laetitia Canini, Harel Dahari, Xiongce Zhao, Susan L Uprichard, Vanessa Haynes-Williams, Mark A Winters, Gitanjali Subramanya, Stewart L Cooper, Peter Pinto, Erin F Wolff, Rachel Bishop, Ma Ai Thanda Han, Scott J Cotler, David E Kleiner, Onur Keskin, Ramazan Idilman, Cihan Yurdaydin, Jeffrey S Glenn, Theo Heller
BACKGROUND: Therapies for chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection are unsatisfactory. Prenylation is essential for HDV and inhibition abrogates HDV production in experimental models. In a proof-of-concept study, we aimed to assess the effect on HDV RNA levels, safety, and tolerability of the prenylation inhibitor lonafarnib in patients with chronic delta hepatitis. METHODS: In this phase 2A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study, patients aged 18 years or older with chronic HDV infection were randomly assigned (3:1 in group 1 and 2:1 in group 2) to receive lonafarnib 100 mg (group 1) or lonafarnib 200 mg (group 2) twice daily for 28 days with 6 months' follow-up...
October 2015: Lancet Infectious Diseases