Trial drug vastly boosts hepatitis C cure

April 17, 2010

/UPI-99881271454240/

Published: April 16, 2010

VIENNA, April 16 (UPI) -- Hepatitis C patients can be cured in 24 weeks when an

experimental treatment is added to two established anti-viral drugs, researchers

in Vienna said Friday.

Adding experimental telaprevir, an infection-treating protease inhibitor

co-developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and & , to established

anti-viral treatments peginterferon and ribavirin, can cure 93 percent to 100

percent of patients infected with hepatitis C genotype 1, one of the hardest

types to cure, said researchers at the International Liver Congress 2010, the

annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.

Patients taking standard peginterferon and ribavirin alone have an average 51

percent cure rate, statistics indicate.

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease chronically infecting 170 million people

worldwide. It is one of the top three causes of cancer death in men and a major

cause of cancer death in women.

Spread by blood-to-blood contact, the disease can lead to advanced liver

scarring, known as cirrhosis, as well as liver failure or liver cancer.

Even after a liver transplant, the virus almost always recurs, statistics

indicate.

The study presented Friday involved 161 European and U.S. patients who enrolled

in a phase II trial, designed to see how well the new drug worked in various

doses after its initial safety was confirmed.

" This trial is really helpful as it shows that patients with a good early

virological response only need 24 weeks of treatment and that a twice-daily dose

of telaprevir is just as effective as three times a day, " hepatology Professor

Mark Thursz of London's Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

said.

" Although the number of patients in this study was relatively small and should

therefore be treated with caution, I expect such findings will make an important

contribution in terms of patients' adherence to their therapy and overall

treatment outcomes, " he said. " This will ultimately impact on their overall

quality of life. "

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