Biotica nominates drug candidate, BC556, a cyclophilin inhibitor to treat Hepatitis C

Biotica Technology Limited (Biotica), a privately-held biotechnology company that discovers and develops polyketide therapeutics, today announces the nomination of its drug candidate, BC556, a cyclophilin inhibitor to treat Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. BC556 offers many benefits over existing treatments and, in combination with drugs acting by other mechanisms, offers the potential of an interferon-free regimen for treatment of HCV infection.

BC556 is a highly potent inhibitor of HCV replication across viral genotypes, its pharmacokinetic profile is consistent with once-daily oral dosing and the compound exhibits a very high barrier to selection of viral resistance. As in HIV therapy, successful treatment of HCV is likely to involve combination of drugs acting by different mechanisms. BC556 benefits from reduced interaction with drug transporters and metabolizing enzymes responsible for drug-drug interactions, and therefore is a suitable compound for combining with other drugs in a treatment cocktail. BC556 was selected from Biotica’s new Sangamide class of cyclophilin inhibitors. Sangamides are analogs of the naturally-occurring polyketide Sanglifehrin A, produced using Biotica’s proprietary polyketide engineering technology.

 “It is our strong belief that only a combination therapy, as in the treatment of HIV, will offer patients a fully-efficacious treatment for hepatitis C,’’ commented Edward Hodgkin, Biotica’s CEO. “As such, Biotica will develop and commercialise BC556 in combination with other drugs with the aim to provide a therapy with a high barrier to resistance, pan-genotype efficacy, oral dosing, and without the side effects seen with interferon-based therapy.’’