Sarepta Reports Favorable Safety Results From Phase I Study Of AVI-7100

(RTTNews) - Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (SRPT), a developer of innovative RNA-based therapeutics, announced favorable safety results from the single ascending dose portion of a Phase I study of AVI-7100, the company's Influenza drug candidate. AVI-7100 uses Sarepta's advanced and proprietary PMOplus chemistry, which is also the basis of the company's clinical-stage Ebola and Marburg drug candidates.

The Phase I study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to characterize the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single and multiple doses of an intravenous formulation of AVI-7100 in healthy adult volunteers.

The study is being conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through a collaboration between the company and the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

AVI-7100 utilizes a novel mechanism of action to target a well-conserved region of the influenza A virus, affording it the potential to act as a broad-spectrum treatment for multiple influenza strains, including Tamiflu-resistant flu strains.