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| |  Up To 65 percent Of Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Seroconvert With Zeffix LAVAL, QC -- July 8, 1999 -- Clinical study results show that up to 65 percent of hepatitis B patients taking BioChem Pharma Inc.’s Zeffix (lamivudine) seroconvert after three years of treatment. This is almost twice the rate seen after one year of Zeffix treatment. The three-year data on Zeffix -- the only oral, once-daily treatment for chronic hepatitis B -- were presented today to over 700 doctors attending the international Zeffix launch meeting in Hong Kong. This was a three-year study in which data were assessed at the end of each year. Seroconversion increased year on year, from 38 percent at the end of the first year, to 65 percent after three years of treatment with Zeffix. "Seroconversion is an excellent indicator that long-lasting clinical improvement will occur. Patients with active liver disease from hepatitis B stand an increasing chance of seroconverting and achieving a long-lasting improvement in their condition when treated with Zeffix," said Dr. Willis Maddrey, professor of internal medicine at Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX. "Sixty-five percent of patients seroconverting after three years -- that's a powerful indication of the efficacy of this treatment and the benefit it can offer people with chronic hepatitis B infection." Other data presented at the meeting demonstrated that Zeffix treatment can halt the progression of liver inflammation and even reverse the liver damage caused by hepatitis B infection, allowing healthy liver tissue to regenerate. The three studies presented to clinicians today involved a total of 578 patients: two of the studies compared Zeffix 100 mg a day with placebo; the third compared Zeffix 100 mg daily with interferon alpha. Results show that only 1.8 percent (four of 219) of patients treated with Zeffix for 52 weeks progressed to cirrhosis (compared to 7.1 percent (seven of 99) with placebo and 9.5 percent (four of 42) after a standard 16-week course of treatment with interferon alpha). Hepatitis B is a potentially fatal liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world. Approximately 350 million people world-wide are chronic hepatitis B carriers and up to 40 percent of those who become infected will die as a consequence of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Each year, up to two million people die from hepatitis B virus infection, making it the ninth-leading cause of death world-wide. Related Links: lamivudine, BioChem Pharma Inc.
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