Vertex, despite the licensing of its well-received new hep C drug Incivek this year, is still in hot pursuit of an oral treatment for hep c that does NOT require interferon. And, it still wants to show elimination of virus in patients by week 12.
This week it shared results of a small study that combined Incivek, its developmental drug VX-222 and ribavarin to treat virus genotype 1a and 1 b patients with 83% of those treated showing viral loads below lower levels of quantitation by week 12. Now, it will push on to a phase IIb trial based on that success. It is targeting an NDA submission to the FDA by 2014.
Additionally, not one to rest on its laurels, Vertex is also looking at other non-interferon combination therapies using Incivek, VX-222 and two other nucleoside polymerase inhibitor drugs licensed from Alios, ALS-2200 and ALS-2158. Thus, they hope to stay ahead in the hepatitis C treatment market and defend their current share.
Their stock responded yesterday by jumping 3.4% on the news. See Fierce Biotech and Xconomy.
Posted by Bruce Lehr Feb 24th 2012.
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