Beclabuvir (also known by the research name BMS-791325; abbreviated BCV) is an

antiviral drug Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do n ...

for the treatment of

hepatitis C virus The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family ''Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer ( hepato ...

(HCV) infection that has been studied in

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

. In February 2017,

Bristol-Myers Squibb The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the lar ...

began sponsoring a post-marketing trial of beclabuvir, in combination with asunaprevir and

daclatasvir Daclatasvir, sold under the brand name Daklinza, is an antiviral medication used in combination with other medications to treat hepatitis C (HCV). The other medications used in combination include sofosbuvir, ribavirin, and interferon, vary depe ...

, to study the combination's safety profile with regard to liver function. From February 2014 to November 2016, a

phase II clinical trial The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

was conducted on the combination of asunaprevir/daclatasvir/beclabuvir (beclabuvir is referred to as BMS-791325 in the trial) on patients infected with both

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and HCV. Furthermore, a recent meta-analysis of six published six clinical trials showed high response rates in HCV genotype 1-infected patients treated with

, asunaprevir, and beclabuvir irrespective of

ribavirin Ribavirin, also known as tribavirin, is an antiviral medication used to treat RSV infection, hepatitis C and some viral hemorrhagic fevers. For hepatitis C, it is used in combination with other medications such as simeprevir, sofosbuvir, pegin ...

use, prior

interferon Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten the ...

-based therapy, or restriction on noncirrhotic patients,

IL28B Interferon lambda 3 (gene symbol: ''IFNL3)'' encodes the IFNL3 protein. ''IFNL3'' was formerly named ''IL28B'', but the Human Genome Organization Gene Nomenclature Committee renamed this gene in 2013 while assigning a name to the then newly disc ...

genotype, or baseline resistance-associated variants

Pharmacology

Beclabuvir acts as a

NS5B Nonstructural protein 5B (NS5B) is a viral protein found in the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, having the key function of replicating HCV's viral RNA by using the viral positive RNA strand as a template to catalyze ...

(RNA polymerase) inhibitor.

References

NS5B (polymerase) inhibitors Sulfamides Experimental drugs {{Antiinfective-drug-stub