Research & Development

Hepatitis C

PYN17 to relieve the symptoms of chronic hepatitis C (CHC)

According to the WHO, HCV is comparable to a 'viral time bomb'. The WHO estimates that about 200 million people are infected with HCV with a global 170 million chronic suffers at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer which are the primary reasons for liver transplants. Only a minority of patients receive a long-term benefit from the treatments currently available. Many drop out or decline the treatment because of side effects. The unmet medical need remains very high and the market potential for a new effective treatment is substantial.

PYN17 is not an anti-viral treatment for HCV, but a treatment for the symptoms of CHC. It is based on a novel formulation of one European and three Chinese plants which individually have been used to treat liver diseases in Asia and Europe. The plants selected have a long-established use in hepatic protection and hepatic stimulation. All four plants have a long history of safe use in humans with very little or no toxicity.

A Phase IIa clinical trial was completed in May 2005 by Professor Graham Foster of the Royal London Hospital on PYN17, and showed a clean safety profile and decreases in liver inflammation in patients with CHC. It suggests that PYN17 could be developed both as a stand alone treatment and an adjunct treatment alongside established drugs for viral hepatitis, and also more broadly as a treatment for other inflammatory liver diseases such as alcoholic cirrhosis and fatty livers associated with metabolic disorders.


PYN18 for hepatitis C virus (HCV)


In contrast to PYN17, PYN18 is a potential treatment for reducing the activity of the hepatitis virus. PYN18 is a single plant extract that has shown anti-viral activity against HCV in pre-clinical tests. Phynova recently screened several different fractions of this extract and found that one in particular showed very distinct activity against the hepatitis C virus in a surrogate viral replicon assay. In the assay, interferon alpha, which in combination with ribavirin is the current recommended treatment for HCV, was used as a control. PYN18 showed activity comparable to interferon in the assay.