Showing posts with label BL-8020. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BL-8020. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2012
Seeking Alpha: Is The Hep C Drug Pipeline Beginning To Crack?
Posted on 8/19/12 on Seeking Alpha.com. Commentary by Tiran Rothman from Bioassociate Consulting on the current state of affairs in HCV drug development. His feeling is that the troubles with the NS5A inhibitors may give formerly dark horse companies developing drugs with differing approaches to tackle the virus (mentioned are BioLineRx with it's BL-8020 entry inhibitor and Transgene's TG4040 therapeutic vaccine) a chance to shine.
Is The Hep C Drug Pipeline Beginning To Crack?
By Tiran Rothman
Another crack appeared today in the ultra-hype of next generation Hep C drugs. Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX) released news that its Phase IIb trial with IDX184 was put on partial clinical hold by the FDA due to the recent cardiovascular toxicity experienced by a patient treated with a similar treatment developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY). Idenix's investors were quick to pull the trigger, sending the stock for a 40% nosedive.
Both Idenix's IDX184 and BMS's 094 are NS5 family inhibitors, which are the front line of Hep C drug candidates, destined to be part of an oral therapy regimen that will make the current use of interferon injections redundant. Even though there has been no evidence of cardiotoxicity in patients treated with IDX184, the FDA has expressed a concern regarding potential safety problems of the drug.
Gilead (GILD), the current leader in the next-gen Hep C drugs, is planning a Phase III study with a combination therapy of its NS5A and NS5B inhibitors. The FDA's recent caution regarding NS5 inhibitors might also affect Gilead's sprint toward the finish line. Novartis (NVS), which has recently joined the Hep C crowded waters with the $440m Enanta Pharmaceuticals deal, might also suffer from this new NS5-related safety issues.
About 180 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV. The global Hepatitis market was estimated at $6 billion in 2011 and is forecasted to grow to $20 billion until the end of the decade. The combination of this huge and growing market and insufficient efficacy of the current treatments has generated an immense interest among drug developers and quite a few deals.
The recent holdups in the NS5-related treatments suggest that the Hep C pipeline might need some variations. Several companies are developing alternative, non-NS5 inhibitor-related, Hep C treatments. Examples for such technologies are Transgene's (TRGNF.PK) TG4040 - a therapeutic Hep C vaccine based on a virus carrying and expressing three of the major Hepatitis C virus's non-structural proteins (NS3, NS4 and NS5B). TG4040 is currently in a phase II trial.
A different approach is taken by BioLineRx (BLRX) that develops BL-8020, an orally available treatment with a unique mechanism of action - inhibition of Hepatitis C virus-induced autophagy. In other words, BL-8020 acts on the host cell rather than the virus itself, thus greatly differentiating it from current and pipeline Hep C drugs. Preclinical studies have shown a synergistic effect of BL-8020, when combined with other anti-Hep C agents, which is likely to increase these agents' potency and reduce any adverse effects by enabling utilization of lower dosages.
With the current setbacks seen among Hep C pipeline frontrunners, additional rounds of licensing and acquisition deals in this area are expected, and companies that develop new and different approaches for Hep C treatment may greatly benefit from others' failures and should be closely watched by investors that follow this therapeutic field.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Original article: The REAL drug to beat in Hepatitis C treatment: Ribavirin
An article I authored and recently published online thanks to the great folks at GastroHep.tv, a multi-media, cutting edge online resource for the Gastroenterology and Hepatology community.
The REAL Drug to Beat in Treating Hepatitis C: Ribavirin
by Chris Barnes
By now, most of us are aware – some of us painfully so – that the Hepatitis C drug development market is red hot. Investors and developers alike need a scorecard to keep track of who is buying who and for what potential blockbuster drug in the race to make it big in treating Hepatitis C. All of this hullabaloo is for good reason – the CDC estimates there are over 170 million people infected with Hepatitis C worldwide[1], a vast majority of them don’t know that they have it. That is paradoxically both an enormous and lucrative problem. This means there are a lot of potential patients for pharmaceutical companies to treat with blockbuster anti-HCV drugs.
The names of the compounds in development are like alphabet soup – GS-7977, VX-222, BMS-790052, BI-201335, TMC 435, BL-8020… protease inhibitors, polymerase inhibitors, cyclophilin inhibitors… the list goes on and on. This is a good thing for both drug makers and patients. Drugs to treat Hepatitis C are becoming more potent and more tolerable. And the race for the next blockbuster drug means there is no shortage of drugs and drug classes to choose from. Drug developers may even realize the holy grail of Hepatitis C treatment – an all oral, interferon-free regimen consisting of 2-4 pills a day. That’s right, no shots, no interferon. This would potentially make treatment for Hepatitis C infinitely more tolerable for patients.
So the HCV drug development biz is booming… but the hottest drug to beat in Hepatitis C? Ribavirin. A cheap, generic anti-viral. It turns out that even with all the advances drug makers are realizing in interferon-free drug combinations, ribavirin is critical to the success in curing patients of Hepatitis C. The trouble is that no one is really sure how ribavirin works. All we know is that treatment response rates are infinitely higher when it is part of a Hepatitis C antiviral regimen.[2][3][4]
Researchers are busy trying to find out just what makes ribavirin tick, but let’s look at a few of the current theories on how the drug works:
Ribavirin may cause something called ‘error catastrophe’ in the lifecycle of the HCV virus.[5]Ribavirin is a nucleoside analog – this means that ribavirin can fool the virus into thinking that it’s one of the building blocks needed for the virus to replicate. So when the virus tries to replicate itself, it picks ribavirin as a building block instead of the real thing. This mucks up the replication process leading to ‘error catastrophe’ – in other words, the virus is no longer able to make copies of itself.
Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH). That’s a tongue-twister to be sure, but it’s also a cellular enzyme the human body makes and the HCV virus needs. Ribavirin may inhibit this enzyme, which consequently shuts down the energy supply the Hepatitis C virus requires to survive and replicate.[1]
The Hepatitis C virus is sneaky. It has a peculiar knack for evading the body’s immune system[2], so anything that might disrupt that ability would be very valuable to an anti-HCV regimen. It turns out that ribavirin may have this unique ability by helping the body mount a specific anti-viral response to the Hepatitis C virus, which is essential in fully clearing the virus. [3]
While ribavirin’s exact mechanism of action remains a mystery, there is one thing we do know for certain – we need ribavirin to fight Hepatitis C. Paring ribavirin with the above new antiviral compounds currently in development – called Direct Acting Antivirals or DAAs - that target and disrupt numerous points in the lifecycle of the virus, lead to significantly better cure rates then just using the DAAs alone. While interferon may go the way of the buffalo, it appears that the lowly, unsexy ribavirin is here to stay. This makes ribavirin the REAL drug to beat in the Hepatitis C drug development marketplace.
References
[1] Perz JF, et al. The contribution of hepatits B virus and hepatitis C virus infections to cirrhosis and primary liver cancer worldwide. J Hepatol 2006; 45: 529-38
[2] Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2010) Vertex adds ribavirin in additional treatment arm in ongoing phase II VX-222 & Telaprevir combo trial. [Press Release] Retrieved from http://viralmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/vertex-adds-ribavirin-in-additional.html
[3] Hezode, Christopher, et al. (2009) Telaprevir and Peginterferon with or without Ribavirin for chronic HCV Infection. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0807650
[4] Smith, M. (2012). New Combo KOs HCV Without Interferon, Ribavirin [Online article] Retrieved from: http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Hepatitis/30739
[5] Maag D, et al. RNA virus error catastrophe: direct molecular test by using ribavirin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sck. 2001; 98: 6895-900
The REAL Drug to Beat in Treating Hepatitis C: Ribavirin
by Chris Barnes
By now, most of us are aware – some of us painfully so – that the Hepatitis C drug development market is red hot. Investors and developers alike need a scorecard to keep track of who is buying who and for what potential blockbuster drug in the race to make it big in treating Hepatitis C. All of this hullabaloo is for good reason – the CDC estimates there are over 170 million people infected with Hepatitis C worldwide[1], a vast majority of them don’t know that they have it. That is paradoxically both an enormous and lucrative problem. This means there are a lot of potential patients for pharmaceutical companies to treat with blockbuster anti-HCV drugs.
The names of the compounds in development are like alphabet soup – GS-7977, VX-222, BMS-790052, BI-201335, TMC 435, BL-8020… protease inhibitors, polymerase inhibitors, cyclophilin inhibitors… the list goes on and on. This is a good thing for both drug makers and patients. Drugs to treat Hepatitis C are becoming more potent and more tolerable. And the race for the next blockbuster drug means there is no shortage of drugs and drug classes to choose from. Drug developers may even realize the holy grail of Hepatitis C treatment – an all oral, interferon-free regimen consisting of 2-4 pills a day. That’s right, no shots, no interferon. This would potentially make treatment for Hepatitis C infinitely more tolerable for patients.
So the HCV drug development biz is booming… but the hottest drug to beat in Hepatitis C? Ribavirin. A cheap, generic anti-viral. It turns out that even with all the advances drug makers are realizing in interferon-free drug combinations, ribavirin is critical to the success in curing patients of Hepatitis C. The trouble is that no one is really sure how ribavirin works. All we know is that treatment response rates are infinitely higher when it is part of a Hepatitis C antiviral regimen.[2][3][4]
Researchers are busy trying to find out just what makes ribavirin tick, but let’s look at a few of the current theories on how the drug works:
Ribavirin may cause something called ‘error catastrophe’ in the lifecycle of the HCV virus.[5]Ribavirin is a nucleoside analog – this means that ribavirin can fool the virus into thinking that it’s one of the building blocks needed for the virus to replicate. So when the virus tries to replicate itself, it picks ribavirin as a building block instead of the real thing. This mucks up the replication process leading to ‘error catastrophe’ – in other words, the virus is no longer able to make copies of itself.
Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH). That’s a tongue-twister to be sure, but it’s also a cellular enzyme the human body makes and the HCV virus needs. Ribavirin may inhibit this enzyme, which consequently shuts down the energy supply the Hepatitis C virus requires to survive and replicate.[1]
The Hepatitis C virus is sneaky. It has a peculiar knack for evading the body’s immune system[2], so anything that might disrupt that ability would be very valuable to an anti-HCV regimen. It turns out that ribavirin may have this unique ability by helping the body mount a specific anti-viral response to the Hepatitis C virus, which is essential in fully clearing the virus. [3]
While ribavirin’s exact mechanism of action remains a mystery, there is one thing we do know for certain – we need ribavirin to fight Hepatitis C. Paring ribavirin with the above new antiviral compounds currently in development – called Direct Acting Antivirals or DAAs - that target and disrupt numerous points in the lifecycle of the virus, lead to significantly better cure rates then just using the DAAs alone. While interferon may go the way of the buffalo, it appears that the lowly, unsexy ribavirin is here to stay. This makes ribavirin the REAL drug to beat in the Hepatitis C drug development marketplace.
References
[1] Perz JF, et al. The contribution of hepatits B virus and hepatitis C virus infections to cirrhosis and primary liver cancer worldwide. J Hepatol 2006; 45: 529-38
[2] Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2010) Vertex adds ribavirin in additional treatment arm in ongoing phase II VX-222 & Telaprevir combo trial. [Press Release] Retrieved from http://viralmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/vertex-adds-ribavirin-in-additional.html
[3] Hezode, Christopher, et al. (2009) Telaprevir and Peginterferon with or without Ribavirin for chronic HCV Infection. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0807650
[4] Smith, M. (2012). New Combo KOs HCV Without Interferon, Ribavirin [Online article] Retrieved from: http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Hepatitis/30739
[5] Maag D, et al. RNA virus error catastrophe: direct molecular test by using ribavirin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sck. 2001; 98: 6895-900
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
BioLineRx in-licenses BL-8030, second generation HCV protease inhibitor...
Posted on 2/6/12 on Marketwatch.com. Jerusalem-based BioLineRx in-licenses HCV NS3 protease inhibitor BL-8030 from Genoscience and Georgia-based RFS Pharma to complement their recently in-licensed BL-8020. Both compounds have different and hopefully synergistic mechanisms of action. No hint on efficacy for BL-8030, but the press release touts a unique resistance profile, reduced toxicity and less potential for DDIs compared to the first gen PIs, Boceprevir and Telaprevir.
BioLineRx In-Licenses Second Oral Hepatitis C Treatment
Worldwide, exclusive deal signed with Genoscience and RFS Pharma for development and commercialization of BL-8030
JERUSALEM, Feb 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Advantages of BL-8030 include high specificity, improved resistance profile, reduced toxicity and potentially reduced drug-drug interactions
BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today it has signed a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Genoscience and RFS Pharma to develop and commercialize BL-8030, an orally available treatment for Hepatitis C. The agreement includes upfront license fees, milestones and royalties payable to both companies, which terms are consistent with BioLineRx's standard in-license agreements.
BL-8030 is a potent and selective second generation NS3 protease inhibitor. The NS3 protease is essential for the replication of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and is an important target for HCV therapies. BL-8030 has been shown to have excellent antiviral activity against various HCV genotypes. Pre-clinical studies have demonstrated an improved resistance profile against common protease inhibitor mutants, resulting in a lower probability that the virus will develop resistance to treatment. In addition, BL-8030 has demonstrated a good toxicity profile in pre-clinical studies, exhibiting specificity only to the viral protease and lack of activity against a relevant panel of human proteases as well as a clean profile versus human liver enzymes, which is expected to lead to less drug-drug interactions.
BL-8030 was invented by Professor Philippe Halfon and his team at Genoscience and co-developed with assistance from scientists at RFS Pharma, LLC. Prof. Halfon, Co-Founder and President of Genoscience, is a specialist in molecular virology and infectious diseases, especially HIV, HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) and Hepatitis. In addition he is the founder of several biotechnology companies focusing on antiviral drug discovery and development including ACTgene, Alphabio and Genoscience. RFS Pharma was founded by Professor Raymond F. Schinazi; he currently serves as the Frances Winship Walters Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University. He is also a founder of Pharmasset, Idenix, Triangle and ActivBiotics Pharma.
Prof. Philippe Halfon said, "We were impressed by the drug development expertise of the BioLineRx team and are very pleased to collaborate with them on a second HCV project. There is clearly a huge unmet medical need in finding a safe and effective treatment for HCV, and based on pre-clinical results, we believe that our product, especially when combined with other available Hepatitis C drugs, has the potential to become an important addition to HCV combination therapies and bring remedy to millions suffering from this devastating disease."
"We worked closely with the group at Genoscience to determine the optimum characteristic that led to the discovery of BL-8030 and related protease inhibitors," said Dr. Steven J. Coats, Senior Director of Chemistry at RFS Pharma.
"We are privileged and fortunate to partner with two world class groups in the development of viral therapeutics," said Dr. Kinneret Savitsky, CEO of BioLineRx. "Two years ago, we took a strategic decision to enter the dynamic and rapidly growing field of Hepatitis C. Since that time, we have evaluated numerous projects in the field. A year ago, we identified and decided to focus on the in-licensing of the two most promising candidates: BL-8020, which we've recently licensed, and now BL-8030. We will do our utmost to develop these promising drugs as swiftly as possible for the benefit of Hepatitis C infected individuals around the world."
About Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a blood borne infection of the liver caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) which becomes chronic in about 85% of cases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV. In addition, HCV infection is the leading cause of liver transplantation and is a risk factor for liver cancer. The Hepatitis C market is growing rapidly and is forecasted to reach $16 billion in 2015 in the seven major markets (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Japan).
About BioLineRx
BioLineRx Ltd. is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical development company. It is dedicated to building a portfolio of products for unmet medical needs or with advantages over currently available therapies. BioLineRx's current portfolio consists of five clinical stage candidates: BL-1020 for schizophrenia has commenced a Phase II/III study; BL-1040, for prevention of pathological cardiac remodeling following a myocardial infarction, is currently undergoing a pivotal CE-Mark registration trial and has been out-licensed to Ikaria Inc. for a total deal value of $282.5 million, in addition to sales royalties; BL-5010 for non-surgical removal of skin lesions has completed a Phase I/II study; BL-1021 for neuropathic pain is in Phase I development and BL-7040 for treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has completed Phase I. In addition, BioLineRx has 13 products in various pre-clinical development stages for a variety of indications, including central nervous system diseases, oncology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.
BioLineRx's business model is based on acquiring molecules mainly from biotechnological incubators and academic institutions. The Company performs feasibility assessment studies and development through pre-clinical and clinical stages, with partial funding from the Israeli Government's Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). The final stage includes partnering with medium and large pharmaceutical companies for advanced clinical development (Phase III) and commercialization.
For more information on BioLineRx, please visit www.biolinerx.com .
About Genoscience
Genoscience, a biopharmaceutical company located in Marseille, France, is focused on the development of new drugs for the treatment of viral diseases as HCV. Genoscience's innovative technology platform, which combines internal expertise in resistance with unique molecular modeling through its proprietary software (GenMol(TM)), allows for the development of highly targeted molecules, taking into account the phenomenon of resistance. For further information about Genoscience, please refer to http://www.genosciencepharma.com .
About RFS Pharma, LLC
RFS Pharma, LLC was founded in September 2004 and is located in a 26,500 sq. ft. state-of-the-art research facility in Tucker, Georgia. RFS Pharma is a privately owned biotech company committed to the discovery and development of antiviral agents and other human therapeutics. The company capitalizes on its expertise in nucleoside chemistry to develop drugs to combat infections caused by drug-resistant HIV and hepatitis viruses. RFS Pharma's lead product candidate is amdoxovir, which is in advanced Phase 2 clinical studies for the treatment of HIV-1 infections. In addition, the company has identified promising, early stage compounds for hepatitis infections, analogs that are effective against noroviruses, and has a proprietary novel nucleoside prodrug technology. For further information about RFS Pharma, please refer to our website, www.rfspharma.com .
Various statements in this release concerning BioLineRx's future expectations, plans and prospects, including, without limitation, statements relating to the ability to develop and commercialize the BL-8030 project, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include words such as "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," and "intends," and describe opinions about future events. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BioLineRx to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks are: changes in relationships with collaborators; the impact of competitive products and technological changes; risks relating to the development of new products; and the ability to implement technological improvements. These and other factors are more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of BioLineRx's Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 15, 2011. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent BioLineRx's views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. BioLineRx does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements unless required by law.
SOURCE: BioLineRx Ltd.
BioLineRx In-Licenses Second Oral Hepatitis C Treatment
Worldwide, exclusive deal signed with Genoscience and RFS Pharma for development and commercialization of BL-8030
JERUSALEM, Feb 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Advantages of BL-8030 include high specificity, improved resistance profile, reduced toxicity and potentially reduced drug-drug interactions
BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today it has signed a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Genoscience and RFS Pharma to develop and commercialize BL-8030, an orally available treatment for Hepatitis C. The agreement includes upfront license fees, milestones and royalties payable to both companies, which terms are consistent with BioLineRx's standard in-license agreements.
BL-8030 is a potent and selective second generation NS3 protease inhibitor. The NS3 protease is essential for the replication of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and is an important target for HCV therapies. BL-8030 has been shown to have excellent antiviral activity against various HCV genotypes. Pre-clinical studies have demonstrated an improved resistance profile against common protease inhibitor mutants, resulting in a lower probability that the virus will develop resistance to treatment. In addition, BL-8030 has demonstrated a good toxicity profile in pre-clinical studies, exhibiting specificity only to the viral protease and lack of activity against a relevant panel of human proteases as well as a clean profile versus human liver enzymes, which is expected to lead to less drug-drug interactions.
BL-8030 was invented by Professor Philippe Halfon and his team at Genoscience and co-developed with assistance from scientists at RFS Pharma, LLC. Prof. Halfon, Co-Founder and President of Genoscience, is a specialist in molecular virology and infectious diseases, especially HIV, HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) and Hepatitis. In addition he is the founder of several biotechnology companies focusing on antiviral drug discovery and development including ACTgene, Alphabio and Genoscience. RFS Pharma was founded by Professor Raymond F. Schinazi; he currently serves as the Frances Winship Walters Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University. He is also a founder of Pharmasset, Idenix, Triangle and ActivBiotics Pharma.
Prof. Philippe Halfon said, "We were impressed by the drug development expertise of the BioLineRx team and are very pleased to collaborate with them on a second HCV project. There is clearly a huge unmet medical need in finding a safe and effective treatment for HCV, and based on pre-clinical results, we believe that our product, especially when combined with other available Hepatitis C drugs, has the potential to become an important addition to HCV combination therapies and bring remedy to millions suffering from this devastating disease."
"We worked closely with the group at Genoscience to determine the optimum characteristic that led to the discovery of BL-8030 and related protease inhibitors," said Dr. Steven J. Coats, Senior Director of Chemistry at RFS Pharma.
"We are privileged and fortunate to partner with two world class groups in the development of viral therapeutics," said Dr. Kinneret Savitsky, CEO of BioLineRx. "Two years ago, we took a strategic decision to enter the dynamic and rapidly growing field of Hepatitis C. Since that time, we have evaluated numerous projects in the field. A year ago, we identified and decided to focus on the in-licensing of the two most promising candidates: BL-8020, which we've recently licensed, and now BL-8030. We will do our utmost to develop these promising drugs as swiftly as possible for the benefit of Hepatitis C infected individuals around the world."
About Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a blood borne infection of the liver caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) which becomes chronic in about 85% of cases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV. In addition, HCV infection is the leading cause of liver transplantation and is a risk factor for liver cancer. The Hepatitis C market is growing rapidly and is forecasted to reach $16 billion in 2015 in the seven major markets (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Japan).
About BioLineRx
BioLineRx Ltd. is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical development company. It is dedicated to building a portfolio of products for unmet medical needs or with advantages over currently available therapies. BioLineRx's current portfolio consists of five clinical stage candidates: BL-1020 for schizophrenia has commenced a Phase II/III study; BL-1040, for prevention of pathological cardiac remodeling following a myocardial infarction, is currently undergoing a pivotal CE-Mark registration trial and has been out-licensed to Ikaria Inc. for a total deal value of $282.5 million, in addition to sales royalties; BL-5010 for non-surgical removal of skin lesions has completed a Phase I/II study; BL-1021 for neuropathic pain is in Phase I development and BL-7040 for treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has completed Phase I. In addition, BioLineRx has 13 products in various pre-clinical development stages for a variety of indications, including central nervous system diseases, oncology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.
BioLineRx's business model is based on acquiring molecules mainly from biotechnological incubators and academic institutions. The Company performs feasibility assessment studies and development through pre-clinical and clinical stages, with partial funding from the Israeli Government's Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). The final stage includes partnering with medium and large pharmaceutical companies for advanced clinical development (Phase III) and commercialization.
For more information on BioLineRx, please visit www.biolinerx.com .
About Genoscience
Genoscience, a biopharmaceutical company located in Marseille, France, is focused on the development of new drugs for the treatment of viral diseases as HCV. Genoscience's innovative technology platform, which combines internal expertise in resistance with unique molecular modeling through its proprietary software (GenMol(TM)), allows for the development of highly targeted molecules, taking into account the phenomenon of resistance. For further information about Genoscience, please refer to http://www.genosciencepharma.com .
About RFS Pharma, LLC
RFS Pharma, LLC was founded in September 2004 and is located in a 26,500 sq. ft. state-of-the-art research facility in Tucker, Georgia. RFS Pharma is a privately owned biotech company committed to the discovery and development of antiviral agents and other human therapeutics. The company capitalizes on its expertise in nucleoside chemistry to develop drugs to combat infections caused by drug-resistant HIV and hepatitis viruses. RFS Pharma's lead product candidate is amdoxovir, which is in advanced Phase 2 clinical studies for the treatment of HIV-1 infections. In addition, the company has identified promising, early stage compounds for hepatitis infections, analogs that are effective against noroviruses, and has a proprietary novel nucleoside prodrug technology. For further information about RFS Pharma, please refer to our website, www.rfspharma.com .
Various statements in this release concerning BioLineRx's future expectations, plans and prospects, including, without limitation, statements relating to the ability to develop and commercialize the BL-8030 project, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include words such as "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," and "intends," and describe opinions about future events. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BioLineRx to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks are: changes in relationships with collaborators; the impact of competitive products and technological changes; risks relating to the development of new products; and the ability to implement technological improvements. These and other factors are more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of BioLineRx's Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 15, 2011. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent BioLineRx's views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. BioLineRx does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements unless required by law.
SOURCE: BioLineRx Ltd.
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