Stakeholder Opinions: Hepatitis C - Small-molecule antivirals pave the way for triple

[Bharatbook]

Stakeholder Opinions: Hepatitis C - Small-molecule antivirals pave the way for triple therapy

Research and Development activity in the Hepatitis C arena continue to be high. The market still holds many areas of unmet medical needs: while existing therapies provide good efficacy for about half of the patient population, side effects and limited efficacy in other patients offer much room for improvement. Several development setbacks over the past 18 months highlight the obstacles in R&D.

Scope of this report

In-depth analysis of hepatitis C patient potential and dynamics across the major Western markets

Thorough assessment of unmet needs and shortfalls of current HCV therapy

Review of current clinical trial practice and key drug classes in development for hepatitis C

In-depth discussion of novel hepatitis C pipeline candidates and assessment of their potential in HCV therapy

Research and analysis highlights

Due to the suboptimal efficacy and safety profile of current standard HCV therapy, there is a large unmet need for drugs with an improved clinical profile. Experts agree that add-on therapy currently seems more promising than interferon or ribavirin replacement approaches.

Recent clinical data on small-molecule polymerase and protease inhibitors has sparked high hopes for improving SVR rates through triple therapy. Vertex's telaprevir, Schering Plough's boceprevir and Roche's R-1626 currently show the most promising profiles.

Further strategies in HCV drug development include host enzyme inhibitors and non-interferon immunomodulators. However, although theoretically highly promising, most candidates are in very early stages of development and not expected to reach the market soon.

Key reasons to read this report

Review the epidemiological and clinical factors driving new product decisions in hepatitis C as well as unmet needs with current treatment options.

Gain insight through a detailed discussion of key pipeline candidates in late-stage development for hepatitis C.

Understand where concerns and future opportunities lie by learning about the views of key hepatitis B opinion leaders.