Vir Biotechnology, Inc. announced that eight abstracts highlighting new data from its chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) clinical programs have been accepted for presentation at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) The Liver Meeting®, taking place in Boston, MA, from November 10-14, 2023. These include seven poster presentations, one of which is a late-breaking poster, and one late-breaking oral presentation. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection remains an urgent global public health challenge associated with significant morbidity and mortality.

Approximately 300 million people around the world are living with CHB, and approximately 900,000 of them die from associated complications each year. These patients are significantly underserved by existing therapies with low functional cure rates, lifelong daily therapy and/or poor tolerability. Vir is working to achieve a functional cure for the millions of people with CHB around the world through its broad and differentiated portfolio.

Chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) infection occurs as a simultaneous co-infection or super-infection with chronic hepatitis B. An estimated 12 million people globally are infected with CHD, representing approximately 5% of those infected with CHB. CHB-CHD co-infection is considered the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis due to more rapid progression toward hepatocellular carcinoma and liver-related death. VIR-2218 (BRII-835) is an investigational subcutaneously administered hepatitis B virus-targeting small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) that Vir believes has the potential to stimulate an immune response and have direct antiviral activity against hepatitis B virus and hepatitis delta virus.

It is the first siRNA in the clinic to include Enhanced Stabilization Chemistry Plus (ESC+) technology to enhance stability and minimize off-target activity, which potentially could result in an increased therapeutic index. VIR-2218 is the first asset in the Company?s collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to enter clinical trials. VIR-3434 (BRII-877) is an investigational subcutaneously administered antibody designed to block entry of hepatitis B and hepatitis delta viruses into hepatocytes and to reduce the level of virions and subviral particles in the blood.

VIR-3434, which incorporates Xencor?s Xtend? and other Fc technologies, has been engineered to potentially function as a T cell vaccine against hepatitis B virus and hepatitis delta virus, as well as to have an extended half-life. VIR-3434 was identified using Vir?s proprietary monoclonal antibody discovery platform.