AbbVie Initiates Enrollment of Six Global Phase 3 Clinical Studies for Once-Daily, Pan-Genotypic Hepatitis C Regimen

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Jan. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced the initiation of six global Phase 3 clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of its all-oral, once-daily, ribavirin-free investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) regimen, ABT-493, an NS3/4A protease inhibitor, and ABT-530, an NS5A inhibitor, in patients with genotypes 1-6 (GT1-6) chronic HCV infection.

"We believe AbbVie's work in hepatitis C has contributed to the transformation of HCV care over the last few years," said Michael Severino, M.D., executive vice president, research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie. "Our journey continues with the initiation of these Phase 3 studies, which we hope will help us meet the needs of an even broader range of patients living with hepatitis C."

The ENDURANCE and EXPEDITION studies are part of AbbVie's Phase 3 HCV pipeline program and will recruit approximately 1,600 patients globally, from over 250 study sites and in 27 countries. The primary efficacy endpoint of all six studies is rate of sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-treatment (SVR₁₂).

The four ENDURANCE studies evaluate AbbVie's investigational regimen in patients without cirrhosis for up to 12 weeks. ENDURANCE-1 compares SVR in GT1 chronic HCV infected patients who received ABT-493/ABT-530 treatment durations of 12 weeks and as short as eight weeks. ENDURANCE-2 evaluates AbbVie's investigational regimen versus placebo in GT2 chronic HCV infected patients. ENDURANCE-3 compares AbbVie's investigational regimen with sofosbuvir/daclatasvir in treatment-naïve patients with GT3 chronic HCV infection. ENDURANCE-4 evaluates GT4-6 chronic HCV infected patients. 

The EXPEDITION trials evaluate AbbVie's investigational regimen for 12 weeks in difficult to treat patient populations with chronic HCV infection. EXPEDITION-1 evaluates AbbVie's investigational regimen in GT1, 2, 4-6 chronic HCV infected patients with compensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh A). EXPEDITION-4 evaluates GT1-6 chronic HCV infected patients with severe renal impairment and end-stage renal disease, with or without compensated cirrhosis. 

More information on the studies is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02604017, NCT02640482, NCT02640157, NCT02636595, NCT02642432, NCT02651194).

About AbbVie's HCV Clinical Development Program  
AbbVie's HCV clinical development program is intended to advance scientific knowledge and the clinical care of people with chronic HCV infection by investigating pan-genotypic (genotypes 1-6), all-oral, ribavirin-free, once-daily treatment for 12 weeks, including eight week duration in genotype 1 patients. AbbVie's investigational regimen includes 300 mg ABT-493, an NS3/4A protease inhibitor, and 120 mg ABT-530, an NS5A inhibitor. 

ABT-493 was discovered during the ongoing collaboration between AbbVie and Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENTA) for HCV protease inhibitors and regimens that include protease inhibitors.

About AbbVie
AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases. Together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics, AbbVie employs more than 28,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries. For further information on the company and its people, portfolio and commitments, please visit www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter or view careers on our Facebook or LinkedIn page.

Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, challenges to intellectual property, competition from other products, difficulties inherent in the research and development process, adverse litigation or government action, and changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," in AbbVie's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AbbVie undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

SOURCE AbbVie