Peregrine's Tarvacin Safe in First Hepatitis C Trial

On Monday, Tustin, Calif.-based Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its drug candidate Tarvacin appeared "safe and well-tolerated" in an early-stage clinical trial of hepatitis C patients. The drug is designed to stimulate the body's immune defenses to kill hepatitis C virus particles and infected cells. In the single-dose Phase I trial, the drug was administered to 24 patients with chronic hepatitis C who had either failed on or were no longer responding to standard treatments. Peregrine's statement said the Tarvacin "was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events reported at any of the four dose levels tested, and no potential dose limiting toxicities were observed." Adverse effects were said to be "mild, infrequent, transient and likely not drug-related." Later this year, the company hopes to conduct repeat-dose and combination therapy trials of Tarvacin.

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