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BACKGROUND & AIMS: Nucleic acid polymers (NAPs) inhibit assembly and secretion of hepatitis B virus (HBV) subviral particles. We performed an open-label, phase 2 study of the safety and efficacy of the NAPs REP 2139 or REP 2165 combined with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and pegylated interferon alfa-2a (pegIFN) in patients with chronic HBV infection who were negative for hepatitis B e antigen. METHODS: Following 24 weeks TDF therapy, 40 patients were randomly assigned to groups that received 48 weeks of experimental therapy (TDF þ pegIFN þ REP 2139-Mg or REP 2165-Mg) or 24 weeks of control therapy (TDF þ pegIFN) followed by 48 weeks of experimental therapy. Patients were then followed for a treatment-free period of 48 weeks. Primary outcomes were the safety and tolerability of REP 2139-Mg or REP 2165-Mg in combination with TDF þ pegIFN compared with TDF þ pegIFN alone through the first 48 weeks of therapy and subsequently throughout 48 weeks of NAP-based combination therapy (treatment weeks 24-72 in the experimental group and weeks 48-96 in the control group). Secondary outcomes were reductions in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in control and experimental groups over the first 48 weeks of the study and throughout 48 weeks of combination therapy and virologic control (HBsAg positive, HBV DNA below 2000 IU/mL, normal level of alanine aminotransferase) or functional cure (HBsAg below 0.05 IU/mL, HBV DNA target not detected, normal level of alanine aminotransferase) after removal of all therapy. RESULTS: Levels of HBsAg, anti-HBs, and HBV DNA did not differ significantly between the groups given REP 2139 vs REP 2165. PegIFN-induced thrombocytopenia (P ¼ .299 vs controls) and neutropenia (P ¼ .112 vs controls) were unaffected by NAPs (REP 2139 vs REP 2165). Increases in levels of transaminases were significantly more frequent (P < .001 vs controls) and greater (P ¼ .002 vs controls) in the NAP groups (but did not produce symptoms), correlated with initial decrease in HBsAg, and normalized during therapy and follow-up. During the first 24 weeks of TDF and pegIFN administration, significantly higher proportions of

Finite therapy of HBV/HDV co‐infection with REP 2139‐Ca and pegIFN has good long term safety and is accompanied by high rates of functional cure of HDV, normalization of liver function and additional functional cure of HBV. HBV functional cure is accompanied inactivation / clearance of cccDNA and clearance of integrated HBV DNA.

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Hepatitis D virus (HDV) requires hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for its assembly and release. Current HBV treatments are only marginally effective against HDV because they fail to inhibit HBsAg production/secretion. However, monotherapy with the nucleic acid polymer REP 2139-Ca is accompanied by rapid declines in both HBsAg and HDV RNA. We used mathematical modeling to estimate HDV-HBsAg-host parameters and to elucidate the mode of action and efficacy of REP 2139-Ca against HDV in 12 treatment-naive HBV/HDV co-infected patients. The model accurately reproduced the observed decline of HBsAg and HDV, which was simultaneous. Median serum HBsAg half-life (t 1/2) was estimated as 1.3 [0.9-1.8] days corresponding to a pretreatment production and clearance of ~10 8 [10 7.7-10 8.3 ] IU/day. The HDV-infected cell loss was estimated to be 0.052 [0.035-0.074] days −1 corresponding to an infected cell t 1/2 = 13.3 days. The efficacy of blocking HBsAg and HDV production were 98.2 [94.5-99.9]% and 99.7 [96.0-99.8]%, respectively. In conclusion, both HBsAg production and HDV replication are effectively inhibited by REP 2139-Ca. Modeling HBsAg kinetics during REP 2139-Ca monotherapy indicates a short HBsAg half-life (1.3 days) suggesting a rapid turnover of HBsAg in HBV/ HDV co-infection. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) co-infection affects an estimated 15-40 million persons worldwide 1,2 and is the most aggressive form of viral hepatitis 3. Therapy with pegylated interferon-α2a (pegIFN) is suboptimal in controlling HDV infection 4,5 and no other therapies are approved for the treatment of HDV. HDV requires hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for assembly and release. While the large isoform (L-HBsAg) is not requisite for HDV assembly and release, it is necessary for infectivity 6. Drugs that directly target HDV and reduce HDV levels are in development 7 , however the only anti-HBV treatment that affects HBsAg production is the nucleic acid polymer (NAP) REP 2139-Ca, which is accompanied by declines in both HBsAg and HDV RNA 8-11. Therefore, analyzing antiviral response during REP 2139-Ca monotherapy provides a unique opportunity to examine HBsAg production and clearance rates in HBV/HDV co-infected patients and to obtain a deeper understanding of REP 2139-Ca mode of action and efficacy against HDV. The aim of this study was to analyze the kinetics of HBV DNA, HBsAg, ALT and HDV RNA during REP 2139-Ca monotherapy and investigate the dynamics of HDV RNA and HBsAg using mathematical modelling.

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