Atea’s hepatitis C combo matches Gilead’s Epclusa in phase 3 trial

Boston-based biotech Atea Pharmaceuticals reported that its once-daily hepatitis C combination of bemnifosbuvir and ruzasvir performed on par with Gilead's Epclusa in a pivotal phase 3 study.

The C-Beyond trial enrolled 905 treatment-naive patients, including 184 with cirrhosis. At week 24, the Atea regimen achieved a 93.9% sustained virologic response (SVR) compared with 94.8% for Epclusa, meeting the primary endpoint of statistical non-inferiority.

In patients without cirrhosis, an eight-week course of the Atea combo matched the SVR of a twelve-week Epclusa regimen, while cirrhotic patients received twelve weeks and showed comparable results. The readout satisfies both the FDA-preferred modified intent-to-treat analysis and the European-preferred per-protocol analysis.

The data moves Atea toward a second readout and positions its shorter, simpler regimen as a potential alternative for hepatitis C therapy.