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 With its antiviral drug, pimodivir, J&J aims to help treat influenza
patients who have developed resistance to existing antiviral drugs
as well as address the lack of approved medications for people
hospitalized with the virus, the company said.
More than one billion people suffer from influenza worldwide each
year, resulting in about five million cases of severe illness and up
to half a million deaths.
J&J's trial tested pimodivir as a mono-therapy or in combination
with a widely used flu drug, oseltamivir, for the treatment of acute
uncomplicated seasonal influenza.
Influenza viruses can evolve from one flu season to the next, and
even change within the course of the same season. As a flu virus
replicates, its genetic makeup may change in a way that results in
the virus becoming resistant to treatment.
There are three antiviral drugs recommended by the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control & Prevention for this season: oseltamivir (which is
available as a generic or under the trade name Tamiflu), zanamivir
and peramivir.
Pimodivir targets another part of the viral replication process when
compared to oseltamivir, and if successful, could treat influenza A
patients who have developed resistance to existing treatments.
J&J said trial data showed that treatment with pimodivir alone
resulted in a statistically significant reduction in viral load in
patients over seven days from the start of dosing, when compared
with a placebo.
Adding pimodivir to oseltamivir also resulted in a significantly
lower viral load compared to those who received pimodivir alone, the
company added.
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Pimodivir was granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's
"fast-track" status in March due to its potential to address
medication for patients who develop the influenza A infection and
are hospitalized, or are at high risk of related complications.
The Band-aid maker bought the worldwide rights to pimodivir from
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc in 2014, and its development is being
funded in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
J&J said it expects to begin a late-stage trial for the drug in the
second half of the year.
The company's shares were up 0.8 percent at $133.06 in early trading
on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin
Ravikumar)
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