Vertex Unveils More Promising Hep C Drug Data

An experimental hepatitis C drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX Quote) was effective in treating patients who failed to respond previously to currently prescribed hepatitis C drugs, according to preliminary data presented at a liver disease meeting in Europe Thursday.

The Vertex drug, telaprevir, has already shown in previous studies the ability to cure hepatitis C patients who are newly diagnosed and haven't yet been treated. Vertex and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ Quote) are co-development/marketing partners with the drug.

The new clinical data, however, shows telaprevir may also be a breakthrough treatment for so-called non-responder or relapsed hepatitis C patients. These are patients considered the hardest to treat because they either did not respond to current drugs like interferon and ribavirin, or their virus returned after treatment.

The new clinical data on telaprevir in treatment-resistant hepatitis C patients, while positive, is still preliminary and will have to be confirmed with longer-term patient follow-up. ...