Human Genome calls hepatitis drug sleeper product

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http://in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-46039720100209

Human Genome calls hepatitis drug sleeper product

Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:11am IST

By Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Human Genome Sciences Inc investors focus on the

eagerly-anticipated experimental lupus drug Benlysta, a " sleeper product " for

hepatitis C could provide additional billions in future sales, a company

official said on Tuesday.

Human Genome Sciences Inc is awaiting a U.S. approval decision later this year

for Zalbin, an interferon that would compete with Roche Holding AG's big-selling

Pegasys and Merck & Co's Inc Pegintron.

The two current leading interferons are taken intravenously once a week for up

to 48 weeks in combination with the antiviral pill ribavirin.

Zalbin by contrast is injected every two weeks, potentially cutting down on

injection-related side effects and adding to convenience. Human Genome has a

partnership with Novartis AG on the hepatitis C drug.

" Our thought is that any time you would use a weekly interferon, you should use

Zalbin because you would have to take half as many injections and it would do

the same thing, " Barry Labinger, Human Genome's chief commercial officer, said

in an interview at the BIO CEO & Investor conference in New York.

" The goal is to maintain the antiviral efficacy of an interferon by boosting the

normal immune response, while also reducing the burden of treatment, " Labinger

said.

The company is also testing a once-monthly version of Zalbin, Labinger said.

Zalbin is a sleeper for two reasons.

" For us as a company, expectations are all on Benlysta right now, " he said.

The other reason is that scientific and investor focus on hepatitis C is firmly

on a new class of antiviral drugs being developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc,

Merck and others that look set to sharply increase cure rates for the serious

liver disease while potentially cutting treatment duration.

But those drugs are being tested in combination with standard treatments and

Human Genome sees Zalbin as an attractive replacement for the current

interferons.

Labinger expects the current annual $2 billion market for interferons to expand

and he sees Zalbin eventually grabbing " a big chunk " of the market share.

" I think the market will grow largely because cure rates will go up with these

new antivirals, " he said, drawing more untreated patients to the clinic.

" As far as commercial performance goes, a better interferon is going to get used

quite a lot, even though it's not the thing that gets the scientific juices

flowing, " Labinger added.

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Asked if the company could handle the simultaneous launch of both Zalbin and

Benlysta, Labinger expressed little concern.

" We have cash, we've got a good team and we've got two partners that we can rely

on for certain areas. We will be ready, no doubt, " he said.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson; editing by Andre Grenon)