News: Biotron Limited cashes up as research refines Hepatitis C therapy

Biotron Limited (ASX:BIT) has followed an A$8 million fundraising drive with positive safety and pharmacokinetic data during recent Hepatitis C trials of the company’s lead drug.

Biotron’s BIT225 product is a viroporin inhibitor in clinical development for treatment of HIV as well as Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Recent trial work on the drug in Thailand has demonstrated a higher rate of prediction of permanent clearance of HCV (88%) than historically reported (68%).

This progress was reinforced by a continuation of BIT225’s record for showing no serious safety effects. It was also demonstrated to be more efficiently delivered as a capsule than a powder.

The testing builds on an ongoing development program for the drug, which has been independently show to have HCV pan-genotype activity in vitro as well as the ability to inhibit HIV replication in monocyte/macrophage reservoir cells in vitro and in vivo.

The  news follows the raising of $4 million in July in a share purchase plan and an underwritten rights issue in November last year that closed oversubscribed for a raising for $4 million.


Analysis

The latest trial results on BIT225 continue to support the potential for the drug to treat HCV and inform future testwork expected to further de-risk the product.

The $8 million in funds raised in recent months underlines market sentiment that Biotron has considerable commercialisation upside and that BIT225 may be undervalued relative to other HCV drugs.

Scope for the HCV market includes forecasts of growth in value to more than $19 billion by next year, with 3% of the world population infected (180 million people).

Other drugs in this field have demonstrated significant pricing power, with best performing first-year sales recorded at about US$10 billion.