Arrowhead Research Sinks on Disappointing Hepatitis B Drug Data

The specific data on ARC-520 disclosed this morning was contained in a late-breaker abstract for the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) annual meeting, which is being held in November. 

Here is the nut graph from the ARC-520 AASLD late-breaker abstract which caused Arrowhead shares to sink:
ARC-520 activity is assessed by measuring percent change of quantitative HBsAg decline from baseline. For patients receiving ARC-520 in cohort 1, mean nadir HBsAg was -39% (range -22 to -57) with a mean change on day 85 of -31% (range -14 to -39). For patients receiving ARC-520 in cohort 2, mean nadir  HBsAg was - 51% (range -46 to -59) with a mean change on day 85 of -22% (range -7 to -40). For cohort 2, the percent reduction in HBsAg was statistically significant vs placebo for Days 3 through 43 post dose. This is the first time that a reduction in HBsAg mediated through RNA interference has been shown in chronic HBV patients.
There is a formula to convert percent change in quantitative HBsAg decline from baseline into a log reduction. The 51% reduction disclosed in the abstract for the 2 mg/kg dose of ARC-520 equates to a 0.3-log reduction.


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