Drug Farm's anti-HBV DF-006 to Present at 2024 EASL Conference

GUILFORD, Conn. - Drug Farm, a private biotech company leveraging genetics and AI technologies to create novel immune-modulating therapies, announced that data from its Phase 1b trial for chronic hepatitis B patients has been accepted for a late-breaking poster presentation at the 2024 European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) conference in Milan, Italy from June 5 to June 8, 2024.

The poster, titled "A phase 1, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter global study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and antiviral activity of DF-006 in chronic hepatitis B, virologically-suppressed patients," will be presented on June 5, 2024, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm CET. DF-006 is an innovative, orally administered ALPK1 agonist immunomodulator designed to stimulate local innate immunity in the liver. It is the first of its kind and has shown potential in boosting the body’s immune response to clear chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection.

DF-006 has successfully completed evaluations for single and multiple ascending doses in healthy volunteers and virologically suppressed HBeAg negative CHB patients. According to Dr. Ed Gane, Professor of Medicine at the University of Auckland and Deputy Director of the New Zealand Liver Transplant Unit at Auckland City Hospital, the absence of an effective cure for CHB has made the development of DF-006 a significant breakthrough. Dr. Gane emphasized its novel mechanism of action, which stimulates the immune system and its convenient once-weekly oral administration, making it a prime candidate for inclusion in combination HBV cure regimens.

Drug Farm’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jeysen Yogaratnam, highlighted the potent antiviral responses demonstrated by DF-006 in preclinical studies, including the inhibition of cccDNA and the recruitment of T-cells. The data from the Phase 1b trial provides clinical validation for this novel drug mechanism, offering hope for a potential cure for CHB patients.

Drug Farm is recognized for its innovative approaches in developing treatments targeting innate immunity for hepatitis B, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. The company’s proprietary IDInVivo platform integrates advanced genetic and AI technologies to discover new therapeutic solutions. This platform allows for the direct assessment of gene targets in living animals with intact immune systems, facilitating rapid advancement of multiple first-in-class drug candidates into clinical development.