Has anyone done any research into another NRTI in development...

Has anyone done any research into another NRTI in development called Elvucitabine?

From the scant reading I've done..it seems they have a compound very similar to Avexa's.

They completed 48wk Phase 11 studies in June 2008.
The company is Achillion Pharma, a Nasdaq listed company.
It had a very similar safety profile to Avexa's


Here's Achillion's June '08 announcement:

Achillion Announces Additional Positive Top-Line Phase 2 Data for Elvucitabine
Data At 48 Weeks Build Upon Previously Reported Antiviral Activity and Safety Profile

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jun 9, 2008 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACHN), a leader in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs to combat the most challenging infectious diseases, today announced additional positive safety and efficacy results from its ongoing Phase 2 trial studying elvucitabine in patients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Elvucitabine, Achillion's HIV product candidate, is an L-cytosine nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) that has previously demonstrated potent antiviral activity against HIV, including strains resistant to other NRTIs.

48-Week Safety and Efficacy Findings

The objectives of the trial, ACH443-015, include the assessment of safety, tolerability and antiviral activity with a once daily 10 mg dose of elvucitabine, as compared to 3TC (lamivudine), in a standard triple-combination regimen. The results at 48 weeks demonstrated that elvucitabine had a substantial anti-viral effect similar to 3TC, with a mean change in HIV-RNA from base-line in the elvucitabine treatment group of -3.0 log10 (+/-0.55) vs. -3.2 log10 (+/- 0.6) in the 3TC treatment group in the as-treated patient analysis. In the elvucitabine-treated group, 96% of patients reached undetectable viral load, defined as achieving fewer than 50 copies/ml after 48 weeks of therapy, compared to 97% in the 3TC group. Elvucitabine was well-tolerated and demonstrated a safety profile comparable to 3TC for both incidence and severity of adverse events. Additional results from this trial at 96 weeks will be announced once available. Full data on interim results will be presented at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City on August 5, 2008.

"Elvucitabine continues to demonstrate substantial antiviral activity with a generally safe and tolerable side effect profile. Importantly, these data show that elvucitabine has a durable response, with 96% of patients achieving undetectable viral loads at 48 weeks," said Elizabeth A. Olek, D.O., Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. "We are encouraged that, as these data mature, elvucitabine continues to demonstrate excellent safety and efficacy, while offering an important potential treatment option for HIV patients."

"These 48 week data confirm our belief that elvucitabine offers a very promising treatment for use in combination therapy, and we are pleased to see that the response to elvucitabine is sustained over time, "commented Michael D. Kishbauch, President and CEO of Achillion. "We look forward to reporting final data from these cohorts."

Study Design

ACH443-015 is a randomized, double-blind study in patients infected with wild-type HIV-1 virus. The trial included a 12-week blinded treatment period after which responders (patients with viral loads below 400 copies/ml, or less than 2 log10 decrease) continued to a now ongoing 84-week open-label extension period. The trial enrolled 78 subjects who were randomized 1:1 into two treatment groups: 10 mg/day elvucitabine with 600 mg/day efavirenz and 300 mg/day tenofovir or 300 mg/day 3TC with 600 mg/day efavirenz and 300 mg/day tenofovir.