Ground-Breaking Combination - All-Oral Agents Demonstrates Potential as Hepatitis C Treatment Regime

[steven johnson]

Hepatitis C is a particularly nasty bug with limited therapeutic options. Apparently, there is treatment hope with a new regimine.

A combination of R7227, protease inhibitor, and R7128, nucleoside polymerase inhibitor, shows significant potency in reducing viral load in patients with hepatitis C


The trial, conducted in centers in New Zealand and Australia, is the first to investigate the combination of two oral antiviral medicines in the absence of interferon and ribavirin. The results demonstrated for the first time that the combination of an oral protease inhibitor and an oral nucleoside polymerase inhibitor resulted in significant HCV viral load reduction in patients with HCV. Roche is developing R7227, a protease inhibitor, with InterMune, and R7128, a nucleoside polymerase inhibitor, with Pharmasset.
"These are exciting times in our fight against hepatitis C, and the investigation of the innovative oral treatment regimen in INFORM-1, if validated in further study, may radically change future treatment strategies in our patients with chronic HCV infection," said Edward Gane, M.D., Associate Professor, University of Auckland and Director, Auckland Clinical Studies Limited. "The initial results from this study of the R7227/R7128 combination raise hopes of the possibility for an interferon-free treatment regimen, as well as the potential for a shorter, more potent interferon-based regimen."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20090425.NY05363&show_article=1&catnum=0

[scardycat]

1. I read that article..

I hope for a treatment that isnt so invasive as the peg/rib treatments that they have out now.

[xchrom]

2. i was too late to rec this -- would if i could. nt