ContraVir conducting Phase II studies for combination therapy in HBV

ContraVir CEO James Sapirstein talked with Informa Pharma Intelligence at BioPharm America 2016 about his company's plans to improve on current therapies for hepatitis B (HBV) with lipid formulation of Viread, a standard-of-care drug in both HBV and HIV. Lead candidate CMX157 is in a pair of Phase II studies and ContraVir hopes that the drug will become a backbone agent for combination therapy in HBV, similar to the combination regimens that have revolutionized treatment for HIV and hepatitis C. Sapirstein also talked about ContraVir's acquisition this past June of Ciclofilin Pharmaceuticals, which brought the company a preclinical drug candidate that could provide an immunomodulatory complement to CMX157.