albinterferon albinterferon albinterferon (alb-ifn, trade name albuferon) is a recombinant fusion protein drug consisting of interferon alpha (ifn-α) linked to human albumin. conjugation to human albumin prolongs the half-life of the ifn-α to about 6 days, allowing to dose it every two to four weeks. albinterferonclinical dataatc codel03ab12 (who) (albinterferon alfa-2b)identifierscas number472960-22-8chemspidernoneunii4dvs4ag4dfchemical and physical dataformulac3796h5937n1015o1143s50molar mass85685.21 g·mol−1 the drug was under investigation as an alternative to pegylated ifn-α-2a for the treatment of hepatitis c. in response to an fda ruling, novartis and human genome sciences announced on october 5, 2010 that they will cease development of the drug. a french expert in hepatitis treatment, dr. yves benhamou, member of the steering committee for a clinical trial of the drug was detained on criminal fraud charges by the f.b.i. agents on 11-01-2010 as he attended a conference in boston because he allegedly tipped off a hedge fund manager about setbacks in the clinical trials (two participants in the trial had developed lung disease and one of them died); he had a consulting relationship with a manager of the hedge fund. the manager sold his entire stake in human genome sciences before it announced the setbacks in jan. 2008 and avoided $30 million in losses.