Outlook for Hepatitis Patients Set to Improve with Development of Accessible Treatments

New study identifies potential alternatives to Gilead's Sovaldi

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Jul 28, 2014, 07:30 ET

PHILADELPHIA, July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today released a new study in recognition of World Hepatitis Day on Life Sciences Connect, a blog exploring the latest news and trends in Life Sciences and updates on the drug pipeline identifying multiple treatments in development that may serve as potential alternatives to Gilead's Sovaldi, currently priced in the United States at $84,000 for 12 weeks of treatment - $1000 per pill.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver and there are five main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E – plus types X and G. The five main types are of the greatest concern because of the burden of illness and death they cause and the potential for epidemic outbreaks. In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and, together, are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer, killing close to 1.4 million every year according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In late 2013, Gilead dramatically changed the hepatitis C treatment landscape with the launch of Sovaldi, an effective cure for many when used in combination with ribavirin. However, the high cost of the treatment keeps it out of reach for the majority of the estimated 130-150 million individuals suffering from the disease.

To raise additional awareness for World Hepatitis Day, Life Sciences Connect analysts complied Sovaldi-Innovative, Cost Effective, Unaffordable, utilizing Cortellis^™Competitive Intelligence, the pharmaceutical industry's leading source for drug pipeline, deals, patents, and company content, to evaluate the current outlook of therapies in the pipeline. The analysis revealed several alternative treatments in various stages of development. This high activity is expected to create competition that will lessen costs of treatment, making it more affordable and accessible to patients.

The following were among the key treatments found in different stages of development:

Developer	Drug & Mechanism of Action	Indications Under Development
Roche	mericitabine a nucleoside analog NS5B polymerase inhibitor (similar to Sovaldi)	Phase II for Hepatitis
Bristol Myers-Squibb	orally available combination therapies based on the NS5A inhibitor daclatasvir, the NS3 protease inhibitor asunaprevir and the non-nucleoside inhibitor of HCV NS5B	Phase III Potential launch in 2015
Abbvie	dasabuvir (non-nucleoside NS5B polymerase inhibitor) veruprevir (HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor) and ombitasvir (NS5A inhibitor), boosted by ritonavir (+/-ribavirin)	Expected launch Q1 2015

The analysis also includes an infographic illustrating significant shifts in the Hepatitis drug market.

"We conducted this study in recognition of World Hepatitis Day to help raise awareness around this potentially devastating disease and spotlight some drugs in development that may help eradicate it," said Jon Brett-Harris, managing director of Thomson Reuters IP & Science. "One of the largest barriers in treating hepatitis is accessibility, therefore it is critical to identify the key drugs in development that may help make treatment more attainable."

Learn more about Cortellis Competitive Intelligence and visit Life Sciences Connect to view the full analysis and other insights into the latest trends in Life Sciences.

Thomson Reuters
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SOURCE Thomson Reuters