Arbutus Announces Pipeline Updates and Dosing of the First Subject in the Phase 1a/1b Clinical Trial with AB-101; Cash Runway Extended

Progressing development of hepatitis B virus (HBV) compounds imdusiran (AB-729) and AB-101, an oral PD-L1 inhibitor

Discontinuing all coronavirus and oral RNA destabilizer programs, including AB-343 and AB-161

Extending cash runway through Q3 2025

WARMINSTER, Pa., Sept. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS) (“Arbutus” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its extensive virology expertise to develop novel therapeutics that target specific viral diseases, today announced pipeline updates including its continued focus on its hepatitis B virus (HBV) assets, imdusiran (AB-729) as a cornerstone therapy in a functional cure treatment regimen for patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (cHBV), as well as its oral PD-L1 inhibitor, AB-101. In addition, the Company is discontinuing development of its oral RNA destabilizer, AB-161, due to a pre-clinical toxicology finding not related to peripheral neuropathy. There were no safety issues reported in the healthy subjects that received single doses of AB-161 in the Phase 1 clinical trial. The company is also discontinuing its efforts to identify and develop a coronavirus combination therapy that included AB-343 its M^pro candidate, due to an unfavorable PK profile noted in the IND-enabling studies, and a potential nsp12 polymerase inhibitor. These pipeline changes are expected to extend the Company’s cash runway through Q3 2025.

The Company remains on track to report preliminary data in the fourth quarter of this year from the Phase 2a clinical trial with imdusiran and Vaccitech’s VTP-300 in patients with cHBV. In addition, the Company has dosed the first subject in its Phase 1a/1b clinical trial with its oral PD-L1 inhibitor, AB-101, for HBV and expects preliminary data in the first half of 2024.

“We are confident that our current clinical focus on HBV and our most advanced clinical stage compounds, imdusiran and AB-101, will best position us for success in our mission to achieve a functional cure for HBV,” commented William Collier, Arbutus President and Chief Executive Officer. “Imdusiran has a strong foundation of safety and efficacy data, and we are actively advancing multiple ongoing Phase 2a combination clinical trials. We are also making progress on advancing AB-101, our oral PD-L1 Inhibitor for HBV, which is highly potent with demonstrated activity against PD-L1 in cells from chronic HBV subjects. We recently dosed the first subject in our Phase 1a/1b clinical trial for AB-101 and continue to believe that checkpoint inhibitors may play a role in antiviral immune tolerance in cHBV.”