Precision BioSciences, Inc. announced that the company will present late-breaking data on November 13, 2023 at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases? (AASLD) The Liver Meeting being held in Boston, MA. The poster highlights preclinical data demonstrating PBGENE-HBV?s ability to eliminate cccDNA and inactivate hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, meriting further investigation as a potentially curative treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Based on data to be presented on November 13, 2023 in a non-human primate model of HBV, the ARCUS nuclease was well tolerated and demonstrated up to 99% viral engagement which is defined as % of viral DNA that is either eliminated or inactivated following treatment. The final clinical candidate nuclease demonstrated no detectable off-target editing at doses that maximized on-target editing. In multiple HBV disease models, PBGENE-HBV demonstrated ability to inhibit viral markers and eliminate cccDNA in HBV-infected primary human liver cells.

These data are further supported by a high level of viral engagement and a 95% reduction in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in an episomal HBV mouse model. Finally, the company shared data from a transgenic mouse model of HBV that demonstrated PBGENE-HBV resulted in sustained reduction of HBV DNA even after stopping nucleos(t)ide analog treatment.