Boehringer Ingelheim Announces Phase 3 SVR12 Results in HCV/HIV Co-Infected Patients Treated with Faldaprevir

INGELHEIM, Germany and RIDGEFIELD, Conn., March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Boehringer Ingelheim announced results from STARTVerso^®4 in patients with HCV/HIV co-infection. Hepatitis C viral cure 12 weeks after the conclusion of treatment (SVR12) was achieved by 72% of all patients in the trial. Patients were enrolled in either 120mg or 240mg faldaprevir dose groups. Further, 80% of all patients were eligible for randomization to a shortened duration of treatment (24 versus 48 weeks) because they achieved protocol-defined early treatment success (ETS)* and 86% of these patients achieved SVR12. STARTVerso^®4 is a Phase 3 trial that enrolled 308 hepatitis C (HCV) treatment-naive or experienced patients with HCV/HIV co-infection and evaluated the efficacy and safety of the investigational compound faldaprevir in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV).

"The SVR12 data from STARTVerso^®4 are encouraging, especially given the inclusion of patients with cirrhosis," said Peter Piliero, MD, vice president, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "Comprehensive data from our STARTVerso^® clinical trial program, including data from patients with HCV/HIV co-infection, have been filed with the FDA as part of our New Drug Application for faldaprevir."

In each faldaprevir dose group, 71% (120mg) and 72% (240mg) of patients achieved SVR12. SVR12 results were consistent across patients regardless of HCV genotype-1 subtype (GT1a or GT1b), presence of compensated cirrhosis, dose and duration of faldaprevir, and duration of PegIFN/RBV. In a post hoc analysis, 75% of patients with the Q80K variant achieved SVR12 compared with 71% of patients who did not have the variant.

Serious adverse events (AEs) were reported in 32 patients (10%). To date, 24 patients have prematurely discontinued faldaprevir due to AEs. The most frequent AEs in STARTVerso^®4 were nausea (37%), fatigue (34%), diarrhea (27%), headache (25%), and weakness (23%). Patients will be followed to 24 weeks after the conclusion of treatment (SVR24).

In separate poster presentations at CROI, investigators described the results from analyses that evaluated drug-drug interactions of faldaprevir with common HIV medications, including: efavirenz, atazanavir/ritonavir, darunavir/ritonavir, raltegravir and tenofovir. In each of these analyses, there was no clinically relevant effect of faldaprevir on the pharmacokinetics of any of the HIV medications studied. Patients in STARTVerso^®4 already taking ritonavir-boosted HIV protease inhibitors (darunavir or atazanavir) or efavirenz were enrolled into the 120mg and 240mg faldaprevir groups, respectively.

Boehringer Ingelheim HCV Development Update
The New Drug Application (NDA) for faldaprevir has been accepted for filing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Faldaprevir is currently under review as a component of a combination antiviral treatment regimen for the treatment of chronic HCV infection in adult patients who are treatment-naive or have been previously treated with interferon-based treatment, as well as those with compensated liver disease, cirrhosis, or HCV/HIV co-infection. The FDA target action date for faldaprevir is in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The NDA submission for faldaprevir is supported by Boehringer Ingelheim's STARTVerso^® (NCT01343888, NCT01297270, NCT01358864, NCT01399619) clinical trial program, a multi-study Phase 3 trial program that evaluated faldaprevir for 12 or 24 weeks in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV). The four trials that make up this program studied treatment-naive, treatment-experienced, and HCV/HIV co-infected patients with chronic genotype-1 (GT1) HCV. The primary efficacy endpoint of each STARTVerso^® trial is viral cure 12 weeks after the conclusion of treatment (SVR12).

In November 2013, Boehringer Ingelheim announced that the faldaprevir application for marketing authorization is under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). If authorized by the European Commission, faldaprevir could be available for marketing in the EU in the second half of 2014.

Following an assessment of the blinded Phase 3 trial data from HCVerso^® 1 and 2 for the combination of deleobuvir, faldaprevir and ribavirin, Boehringer Ingelheim has decided to halt further development of deleobuvir-containing HCV regimens. Ongoing regulatory reviews of faldaprevir are not affected by the decision on the deleobuvir-containing regimens.

About Faldaprevir
Faldaprevir is an investigational, oral protease inhibitor that is specifically designed to target viral replication in the liver. Faldaprevir is an investigational compound that has not been approved by the FDA; its safety and efficacy have not been established.

About Boehringer Ingelheim in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
In partnership with the scientific community, our clinical trial program is rigorously designed to find answers to the challenges that HCV patients face, including those who are the most difficult to cure. Our pivotal HCV clinical trials for faldaprevir, STARTVerso^®, included four trials that studied treatment-naive, treatment-experienced, and HCV/HIV co-infected patients with chronic GT1 HCV.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease and a leading cause of chronic liver disease, transplant and failure that affects as many as 150 million people globally. In the United States, approximately 3.2-5.2 million people have chronic HCV infection. Since 1999 there has been a significant increase in deaths due to chronic HCV, which accounts for 15,000 deaths in the United States per year.

STARTVerso^® is a registered service mark of Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH.

About Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation (Ridgefield, CT) and a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 140 affiliates and more than 46,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

Social responsibility is a central element of Boehringer Ingelheim's culture. Involvement in social projects, caring for employees and their families, and providing equal opportunities for all employees form the foundation of the global operations. Mutual cooperation and respect, as well as environmental protection and sustainability are intrinsic factors in all of Boehringer Ingelheim's endeavors.

For more information please visit www.us.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

*ETS = protocol-defined early treatment success (week 4 below limit of quantification [BLQ] and week 8 below limit of detection [BLD]).

SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.