( Poster Presentation at EASL on April 13...)ANA380 Exhibits Activity In Vitro Against Multiple Clinically,Relevant Hepatitis B Virus Mutants,Health

SAN DIEGO, and SEOUL, South Korea, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and LG Life Sciences, Ltd., presented data from an in vitro study showing that ANA380 (LB80380) retains potency against multiple mutant strains of hepatitis B virus (HBV) which are resistant to lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir or telbivudine, during a poster presentation at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Barcelona, Spain, today at 1:00 p.m. CEST (7:00 a.m. EDT).

The study found that the in vitro antiviral potency of ANA380 against seven of nine mutants that were resistant to lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir or telbivudine was not significantly different from the antiviral potency against wild type HBV, indicated by a less than or equal to 2-fold difference in EC50, a measure of inhibition of virus replication. In addition, two HBV mutants that have been associated with clinical failure to entecavir or telbivudine, respectively, showed only small decreases (5 and 7 fold, respectively) in sensitivity to ANA380's antiviral effects in vitro. ANA380 was active against the HBV mutant resistant to telbivudine in prior clinical studies.

"This study illustrates the promising spectrum of antiviral activity for ANA380 against a defined panel of genetically defined drug-resistant HBV variants," said Dr. Stephen Locarnini, M.D., Ph.D., Head, Research & Molecular Development of the Victorian Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia.

"This study also suggests that ANA380/LB80380 may have clinical utility not only in drug-naïve patients but also in patients who have become resistant to the most commonly used HBV therapeutic agents," said Lawrence C. Fritz, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Anadys Pharmaceuticals. "Based on these data, we believe that
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