No matter how powerful add-on drugs are, if Interferon is still part of the mix, many patients will not be able to finish the treatment. If I was in early stages of Hepatitis C with minimal liver scarring, I would wait 12-24 months for new treatments sans Interferon. If my Hepatitis C were more advanced, I would go to www.clinicaltrials.gov and type in my disease and city. (Note disclaimer at end of blog)
Below are “press releases” from companies and are mostly targeted to investors, e.g. The market for treating hepatitis C has burgeoned (My spellchecker doesn’t recognize this as a word) in the last year.
Always look at the source of medical information, if it is Kiss Your Assets Good-Bye or Liver Heard on the Street, run away. If it is the New England Journal of Medicine, or Gastroenterology proceed with caution and a jaundiced eye. Oops a hepatitis pun.
- New hope for rising tide of boomers with hepatitis Cwww.philly.com/…/20120615_New_hope_for_rising_tide_of_boom..Jun 15, 2012 – Michael Secreto has no idea where he picked up hepatitis C. … And then there’s the holy grail of hep C treatment: daily pills without interferon…
- Gilead’s New Hepatitis C Drug Impressive
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/244332.phpCachedYou +1’d this publicly. UndoApr 19, 2012 – It is one of a new class of treatments designed to be given without interferon. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc’s new hepatitis C drug, Incivek and …
- Viral cure achieved without interferon in up to 82% of hepatitis C…eon.businesswire.com/news/…/Hepatitis–C/…/International-Liver-Con…Cached
Apr 19, 2012 – Viral cure achieved without interferon in up to 82% of hepatitis C patients …New data from the largest Phase II interferon-free trial to date, reveal that up to …Gilead, Bristol hepatitis C drugs show promise in clinical … – Fox Newshttp://www.foxnews.com/…/gilead-bristol-hepatitis–c-drugs-show-promise-i…Apr 19, 2012 – A combination of experimental hepatitis C drugs from Gilead … The results were accomplished without interferon, an injected drug that …
Abbott (ABT): Interferon-Free Combination Regimens Could Be New Hepatitis C Virus Treatment Option. April 04, 2012 12:24 PM. Stocks: ABT,. iStockAnalyst …HCV News Ticker-Hepatitis C Treatment Without Interferonhepatitiscnewdrugs.blogspot.com/…/hcv-news-ticker-hepatitis–c–treat…CachedDec 1, 2011 – Novel Hep C Treatment Excludes Peginterferon Alfa By: DENISE NAPOLI, Internal Medicine News Digital Network Therapy with a novel
But then if I didn’t read the business news, I wouldn’t know about this for another couple of days:
Bristol-Myers Drops Hepatitis C Drug After Patient Death
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has abandoned an experimental hepatitis C pill it bought for $2.5 billion earlier this year after one patient died and others were hospitalized while taking the drug in a study.
Bristol-Myers will take a charge of $1.8 billion in the third quarter related to research and development of the therapy, the New York-based company said in a regulatory filing today. The drugmaker suspended testing the medicine, known as BMS-986094, on Aug. 1 after a patient developed heart failure.
Bristol-Myers said yesterday it has discontinued development of the drug, part of a class of medicines called nucleotide polymerase inhibitors, and was consulting with U.S. regulators to assess the treatment’s effects. Along with the death, eight patients suffered from heart and kidney toxicity, the company said in a statement.
“Bristol-Myers paid a fortune for a pearl that turns out to be fake,” said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan businessprofessor who follows the health industry, in an e-mail today, referring to the company’s “string of pearls” name for its acquisition strategy. “The Inhibitex acquisition shows the dangers of paying huge premiums for late-stage drug candidates in hot areas. They still can fail.”
I love it: The dangers of paying huge premiums…Not the dangers of participating in clinical trials. No disrespect to business people, just a different perspective. I should know, I worked in Big Pharma for twenty-five years. First make money for share holders, then do no harm to patients.
There is inherent risk for patients in clinical trials. You can quote me on that.