The trial aims to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers.
TMC649128, a nucleoside NS5B polymerase inhibitor with an exciting pre-clinical profile, is indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV).
TMC649128 is being developed in collaboration with Ortho Biotech Products, an affiliate of Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, for which a milestone payment of EUR7m has been paid to Medivir.
Medivir chief scientific officer Bertil Samuelsson said the start of the phase 1a trial underlines the company’s commitment to the development of novel and innovative hepatitis C treatments, and a TMC649128 component could be a unique departure from other HCV drug classes.