Arbutus to Present AB-729 and AB-836 Data at EASL Congress 2023

WARMINSTER, Pa., June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its extensive virology expertise to develop novel therapeutics that target specific viral diseases, today announced that two abstracts have been accepted for poster presentations at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress 2023 taking place June 21 - 24, 2023 in Vienna, Austria.

The accepted abstracts for poster presentations are as follows:

Abstract Number: 4112
Title: Preliminary safety and antiviral activity of AB-729 combination treatment with pegylated interferon alfa-2a (IFN) in virally suppressed, HBeAg-negative subjects with chronic HBV (cHBV) infection
Presenter: Prof. Man-Fung Yuen
Presentation Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Key Findings: AB-729 treatment in virally suppressed cHBV patients was well tolerated and led to mean HBsAg declines of >1.6 log₁₀ after 24 weeks of treatment, comparable to other AB-729 studies. HBsAg levels < 100 IU/mL were noted in 88% of the subjects. This interim data analysis suggests addition of IFN was well tolerated, and AB-729 + IFN appears to result in continued HBsAg declines in most subjects with 2 subjects reaching HBsAg <LLOQ during IFN treatment. More data is needed to assess the overall impact on HBsAg responses.

Abstract Number: 1281
Title: Hepatitis B virus core protein variant profiles observed in chronic hepatitis B patients treated with capsid inhibitor AB-836
Presenter: Christine L. Espiritu
Presentation Date: Saturday, June 24, 2023
Key Findings: HBV DNA was extracted from plasma collected from 48 subjects enrolled in AB-836-001 who were administered various doses of AB-836, to determine the prevalence and impact of HBV core protein variants on virologic response to AB-836 treatment. The results showed no viral breakthrough or enrichment of HBV core protein resistant variants observed in subjects receiving AB-836 for 28 days. Multiple core protein variants at certain amino acid positions were observed to occur at higher frequencies, suggesting viral plasticity at these sites.