IDX899 Demonstrates Rapid and Profound Inhibition of HIV Replication in a Phase I/II Clinical Trial in Treatment-Naive HIV-Infecte...( CAMBRIDGE Mass. Feb. 6 /- IdenixP...),Health

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDIX), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral and other infectious diseases, today reported data for IDX899, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) being developed for the treatment of HIV. In the first dosing cohort of an ongoing phase I/II study, eight HIV-1 infected treatment-naive patients receiving 800 mg of IDX899 once-daily achieved a mean reduction in virus level of 2.01 log(10), or 99 percent, after seven days of treatment. Additionally, two posters detailing the in-vitro resistance and pharmacokinetic profile in man of IDX899 were presented at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) this week in Boston, MA.

"New once-a-day NNRTIs that offer improved resistance and safety profiles over what is currently available would be a valuable asset to HIV-treating physicians," said Dr. Douglas Richman, Professor of Pathology and Medicine, University of California San Diego, and Director of the UCSD Center for AIDS Research. "The early profile of IDX899 shows promise and warrants continued clinical evaluation as a potential HIV therapy."

Interim Proof of Concept Data in HIV-infected Patients

An ongoing phase I/II clinical trial is evaluating the safety, tolerability and antiviral activity of IDX899. In the first cohort of the study, ten HIV-1-infected treatment-naive patients were randomized 8:2 to receive once-daily 800 mg IDX899 or matching placebo, respectively, for seven days.

Patients receiving once-daily 800 mg of IDX899 achieved a mean and median plasma viral load reduction of 2.01 and 2.11 log(10),
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