Anadys reports positive data on hepatitis C drug

Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday that a potential hepatitis C drug met key goals in a midstage clinical trial.

The company said 72 percent of patients taking ANA-598 had undetectable viral levels by the eighth week, compared with 38 percent taking placebo.

The company is presenting the data at the 45th annual European Association for the Study of the Liver meeting Thursday.

The study analysis is preliminary, the company said. The results also confirm positive safety results from prior studies.