Arbutus Biopharma: Rises as mid-stage hepatitis B treatment study starts

Assembly Biosciences

26/02/2021 13:46

** Drug developer's shares  ABUS.O  rise 2.6% to $3.94
premarket
    ** ABUS and partner Assembly Biosciences Inc  ASMB.O 
initiate a mid-stage study in patients with chronic hepatitis B
virus (HBV) infection  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNX22VBDP
    ** HBV causes liver inflammation and damage; chronic HBV is
a long-lasting infection
    ** Trial to test ASMB's drug candidate vebicorvir in
combination with ABUS's therapeutic candidate, AB-729, and
standard-of-care therapy for chronic HBV infection treatment
    ** ASMB and ABUS entered a clinical collaboration agreement
for the study last year (https://bit.ly/2NzaARD)
    ** ABUS gained 7.3% YTD, as of its last close

 (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar)
 ((Amruta.Khandekar@thomsonreuters.com;))