Vertex to Buy Hepatitis C Drug Developer

VCH-222 and VCH-759 are still in early stages of clinical development, but on a conference call Tuesday, Vertex said it was particularly excited about the early efficacy data on VCH-222. In a small study of five hepatitis C patients, treatment with a twice-daily dose of VCH-222 for three days resulted in a viral load reduction that was very similar to that of telaprevir when it was first tested in patients.

In addition to studying the ViroChem drugs with telaprevir, Vertex says the drugs will also be studied in combination with interferon and ribavirin.

The final price of the ViroChem acquisition will depend on the average Vertex share price before closing. The agreement calls for a collar that will cap Vertex shares involved in the deal at 11 million.