Schering Plough: PEG-Intron/Rebetol combination shows high response rates in hepatitis C patients

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Nov. 14 - Schering Plough Corp. said preliminary study results show patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with PEG-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b) and Rebetol (ribavirin, USP) combination therapy achieved consistently high, sustained virological response rates across all weight groups, with an overall response rate of 66%.

Body weight has been shown in previous studies to affect sustained virological response, the company said.

The study evaluated a 952-patient subset from a large observational study involving more than 2,000 previously untreated patients at 160 clinics in Canada.

Patients were treated, followed and managed per standard of care in a "real-life" treatment setting with no study-related intervention beyond collection of data, the company said.

"These findings are particularly encouraging given that this is a 'real- life' community study with similar patient distribution by genotype within each weight group," said lead investigator Paul Marotta of the London (Ontario) Health Sciences Centre.

The preliminary results were presented at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Meeting in San Francisco.

In the United States, PEG-Intron is approved in combination with Rebetol for a duration of treatment of 48 weeks.

Weight-based dosing of Rebetol is under investigation in U.S. studies, the company said.

Kenilworth, N.J.-based Schering-Plough is a health care company that develops prescription, consumer and animal health products.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.