Press Release on FTC for Hepatitis B from Triangle Pharma

Triangle Pharmaceuticals Reports Data on Hep B with FTC

PRNewswire - Tuesday May 18, 1999

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At the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Orlando, Florida,Triangle Pharmaceuticals presented preliminary data from a completed PhaseI/II dose-escalation study of the safety, tolerance, pharmacokinetics andanti-hepatitis B (HBV) activity of FTC. FTC is an antiviral nucleosideanalogue with potent activity against HIV in vivo. Preclinical results havepreviously shown that FTC also possesses potent in vitro activity againstHBV. The Company previously reported preliminary Phase I/II data on FTCfrom a smaller HBV-infected patient cohort on November 13, 1998.

The preliminary data presented at DDW is from a non-randomizedPhase I/II study. Forty-four HBV-infected patients were divided into 5 groupsand administered Coviracil at doses of 25, 50, 100, 200, or 300mg once aday. After 56 days of treatment, HBV DNA levels decreased in all patients.Using PCR assay, the median reduction in viral load after 56 days of treatmentwith FTC ranged from 2.0 log10 at 25mg once a day to 4.3 log10 at 200mgonce a day.

"These preliminary results from our completed PhaseI/II study are very encouraging, and indicate that Coviracil has potentantiviral activity in patients chronically infected with the hepatitis Bvirus," stated Franck Rousseau, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairsand Chief Medical Officer of Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "In orderto more definitively determine the optimal dose to study in larger trials,a randomized, dose-comparison study of Coviracil is now underway,"added Dr. Rousseau.

HBV is the causative agent of both the acute and chronicforms of hepatitis B, a liver disease that is a major cause of illness anddeath throughout the world. HBV can lead to cirrhosis and cancer of theliver. Worldwide, over 350 million people are infected with HBV, with a20-40% mortality for HBV-associated complications.