• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Sidebar
IU

Indiana University Indiana University IU

Innovate IndianaNews and information on how IU is driving innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development

Hepatitis B drug developed by Assembly Biosciences advances through early safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic evaluation

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Bill W. Hornaday

Assembly Biosciences Inc., a Carmel-based biotech company with numerous ties to Indiana University and the Hoosier State — has successfully completed part of a Phase I study for a lead drug being developed to treat chronic cases of hepatitis B.

The opening half of the study evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (studies of how organisms affect a drug) of a compound known as ABI-H0731 in healthy volunteers. The second half of the study will assess safety, pharmacokinetics and preliminary antiviral efficacy of the drug in patients with chronic hepatitis B. The results of the first half of the study will be reported at a scientific conference later this year.

Founded in 2012, Assembly — which employs about 100 workers and consultants — is built in part around the research of Adam Zlotnick, a professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry at Indiana University Bloomington and co-founder of Assembly. By exploiting vulnerabilities in the capsid assembly of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), it is hoped that the chronic liver infection that it causes — which kills about 786,000 people annually and affects about 240 million people globally according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — can be eradicated.

Other Assembly officials with IU or Indiana ties include:

  • William W. Turner, who co-founded Assembly with Zlotnick and is a former visiting scholar in biochemistry at IU-Bloomington. Turner is head of discovery chemistry at Assembly and served for 35 years as a research chemist at Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Co.
  • Derek Small, a co-founder, CEO and director of Assembly, who earned a bachelors degree in business from Franklin College.
  • Richard DiMarchi, an Assembly director who is the Cox Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences at IU-Bloomington.
  • Micah Mackison, Assembly’s vice president of corporate development and strategy, who earned his bachelors degree in finance from IU.
  • William Ringo, an Assembly director who also serves as a director for BioCrossroads, an Indiana initiative and public-private collaboration that focuses on growing, advancing and investing in the life sciences.

For more information, including details on upcoming Assembly conference presentations, click here.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed under: Alumni, Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, Faculty, IU Research & Technology Corporation, Research, Technology Commercialization, UncategorizedTagged Economic Development, Higher Education and Innovation, Indiana University, Innovation, Intellectual property, IU School of Medicine, IUPUI, Life Sciences, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, STEM (science, Technology Transfer, Workforce

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Additional Content

Innovate Indiana Button

Search Innovate Indiana

About Innovate Indiana

Join us as we highlight how IU innovation is accelerating economic growth in Indiana and beyond and creating a culture of entrepreneurship across the Hoosier state.

Innovate Indiana is maintained by the Indiana University Office of the Vice President for University Relations.

Recent Posts

  • Moving IU innovation to market to improve Hoosier health March 22, 2023
  • IU School of Medicine researcher develops a novel, highly efficient method of producing retinal organoids March 14, 2023
  • Strengthening civics education in Indiana and beyond March 10, 2023
  • Hoosier hoops great Alan Henderson set to bring his new venture game back to Bloomington March 8, 2023
  • IU School of Medicine researcher develops non-invasive tool to detect mutations that could potentially lead to breast cancer February 24, 2023

Categories

Bookmarks

  • Innovate Indiana website
  • IU Center on Representative Government
  • IU Impact
  • IU Innovation and Commercialization Office
  • IU Office of the Vice President for Research
  • IU Office of the Vice President for University Relations
  • IU Ventures

Subscribe to the Innovate Indiana blog

Opt out at any time.

Please, insert a valid email.

Thank you, your email will be added to the mailing list once you click on the link in the confirmation email.

Spam protection has stopped this request. Please contact site owner for help.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Indiana University

Copyright © 2022 The Trustees of Indiana University | Privacy Notice | Accessibility Help

Subscribe

Subscribe By Email

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.