In 2013, the Telaprevir/peg-IFN-a-2a/ribavirin Regimen Will Earn Decision Resources' Proprietary Clinical Gold Standard for Hepatitis C Virus Treatment-Naive Patients

WALTHAM, Mass., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, based on available data and expert opinion, the telaprevir/peg-IFN-a-2a/ribavirin* regimen will earn Decision Resources proprietary clinical gold-standard status for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (treatment-naive population) in 2013, following telaprevir's approval for the indication in 2011.

The telaprevir/peg-IFN-a-2a/ribavirin regimen will earn gold standard status in 2013 owing to its competitive advantages in efficacy and delivery over all currently available hepatitis C virus therapies. In 2009, Decision Resources' clinical gold standard for hepatitis C virus (treatment-naive population) was peg-IFN-a-2a/ribavirin.

The new report entitled Hepatitis C Virus (Treatment-Naive Patients): Triple- and Quadruple-Therapy Regimens Vying for Patient Share of a Diminishing Patient Population also finds that, in 2018, a quadruple therapy—a combination of two hepatitis C virus-specific antiviral agents (e.g., an HCV protease inhibitor plus a polymerase inhibitor or an NS5A inhibitor plus a protease inhibitor), a long-acting interferon and ribavirin—will likely be widely used for the treatment-naive patient population in hepatitis C virus.

"Multiple hepatitis C virus-specific antivirals are currently being developed and several combinations of direct antiviral agents, which include drugs from Pharmasset/InterMune/Roche, Vertex, Gilead and Bristol-Myers Squibb, are already being evaluated in clinical trials or are expected to enter clinical trials soon," said Decision Resources Analyst Alexandra Makarova, M.D., Ph.D. "Although no clinical data are available yet on any quadruple regimen, we expect quadruple regimens for hepatitis C virus to have high efficacy, an acceptable safety profile and a convenient administration schedule."

The report also finds that a hepatitis C virus-specific antiviral that (when used in combination with telaprevir/peg-IFN-a-2a/ribavirin for 24 weeks) achieves a better sustained virologic response in genotype 1 treatment-naive patients than a telaprevir/peg-IFN-a-2a/ribavirin regimen alone would earn a 50 percent patient share in treatment-naive patients in the U.S. and a 45 percent patient share in Europe, according to surveyed U.S. and European gastroenterologists.

*Telaprevir(Vertex/Johnson & Johnson/Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma)/peg-IFN-a-2a (Roche's Pegasys)/ribavirin (Merck's Rebetol, Roche's Copegus, generics)

About the Report

Hepatitis C Virus (Treatment-Naive Patients): Triple- and Quadruple-Therapy Regimens Vying for Patient Share of a Diminishing Patient Population is a DecisionBase 2010 report. DecisionBase 2010 is a decision-support tool that provides in-depth analysis of unmet need, physician expectations of new therapies and commercial dynamics to help pharmaceutical companies optimize their investments in drug development. 

About Decision Resources

Decision Resources (www.DecisionResources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources and master their chosen markets. Decision Resources is a Decision Resources, Inc. company.

About Decision Resources, Inc.

Decision Resources, Inc. is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources, Inc. at www.DecisionResourcesInc.com.

All company, brand or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Decision Resources

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