AusperBio Therapeutics Inc and Ausper Biopharma has announced initiation of patient dosing in a clinical study evaluating AHB-171, the company's investigational hepatocyte-targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutic candidate for Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB).

The milestone marks the advancement of AusperBio's second clinical-stage therapeutic candidate and the first clinical candidate developed using its proprietary Au-HALO liver-targeting delivery technology and siRNA platform. Together with the company's lead clinical program AHB-137, AHB-171 further strengthens AusperBio's Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) pipeline and expands its portfolio of next-generation oligonucleotide therapeutics.

Dr. Guofeng Cheng, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), AusperBio, commented, "Dosing the first patient with our HBV siRNA molecule AHB-171 is a significant milestone for AusperBio and underscores our strong ability to develop proprietary platform technologies and translate them into clinical-stage assets. AHB-171 expands AusperBio's HBV pipeline beyond the lead ASO AHB-137 program and reinforces our strategy of developing differentiated oligonucleotide therapeutics with complementary mechanisms of action for the next-generation therapeutics. We believe this approach will play an important role in achieving a functional cure for Chronic Hepatitis B. We are grateful to the patients, investigators, and study teams whose partnership has made this milestone possible."

CHB remains a major global public health challenge. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Hepatitis Report 2024, approximately 254 million people worldwide are living with HBV, with approximately 1.2 million new infections each year. While current antiviral therapies can effectively suppress viral replication, achieving a functional cure remains a significant unmet medical need.

Dr. Chris Yang, Co-Founder and CSO, AusperBio, added, "AHB-171 integrates our proprietary siRNA discovery capabilities with the Au-HALO liver-targeting delivery technology to create a differentiated therapeutic candidate. It is designed to provide potent and sustained suppression of viral gene expressions, with the potential to support combination strategies toward a functional cure for Chronic Hepatitis B. This milestone marks the first opportunity to evaluate its clinical profile of AHB-171 in CHB patients also assess the performance of our Au-HALO liver-targeting delivery and siRNA technology platform. We look forward to generating clinical data that will guide the continued development of AHB-171, strengthen our HBV pipeline, and further validate the broader potential of our targeted delivery technologies."