A Multi-Center, Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Phase III Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Antiviral Activity and Safety of DA-2802 (Tenofovir Disoproxil Orotate) and Viread (Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate) in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

BACKGROUND: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF, Viread(®)) had been used as a standard treatment option of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). This clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DA-2802 (tenofovir disoproxil orotate) compared to TDF. METHODS: The present study was a double blind randomized controlled trial. Patients with CHB were recruited from 25 hospitals in Korea and given DA-2802 at a dose of 319 mg once daily or Viread(®) at a dose of 300 mg once daily for 48 weeks from March 2017 to January 2019. Change in hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level at week 48 after dosing compared to baseline was the primary efficacy endpoint. Secondary efficacy endpoints were proportions of subjects with undetectable HBV DNA, those with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, and those with loss of hepatitis B envelop antigen (HBeAg), those with loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Adverse events (AEs) were also investigated. RESULTS: A total of 122 patients (DA-2802 group: n = 61, Viread(®) group: n = 61) were used as full analysis set for efficacy analysis. Mean age, proportion of males, laboratory results and virologic characteristics were not different between the two groups. The change in HBV DNA level at week 48 from baseline was −5.13 ± 1.40 in the DA-2802 group and −4.97 ± 1.40 log(10) copies/mL in the Viread(®) group. The analysis of primary endpoint using the nonparametric analysis of covariance showed statistically significant results (P < 0.001), which confirmed non-inferiority of DA-2802 to Viread(®) by a prespecified noninferiority margin of 1. The proportion of undetectable HBV DNA was 78.7% in the DA-2802 group and 75.4% in the Viread(®) group (P = 0.698). The proportion of subjects who had normal ALT levels was 75.4% in the DA-2802 group and 73.3% in the Viread(®) group (P = 0.795). The proportion of those with HBeAg loss was 8.1% in the DA-2802 group and 10.8% in the Viread(®) group (P = 1.000). No subject showed HBsAg loss. The frequency of AEs during treatment was similar between the two groups. Most AEs were mild to moderate in severity. CONCLUSION: DA-2802 is considered an effective and safe treatment for patients with CHB. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02967939