New drug offers hope against hepatitis C

LOS ANGELES -- An experimental drug greatly increased the number of people who appeared to be cured of hepatitis C infection, according to results of midstage testing.

The findings also suggest the drug telaprevir, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which sponsored the two studies, can cut treatment time from one year to six months. However, those taking the drug reported more side effects, such as severe rash, nausea and anemia, than those on standard treatment alone.

Still, telaprevir and similar drugs that other companies are testing offer hope of a major advance against the disease, which afflicts about 3.2 million Americans and 180 million people worldwide. It is caused by a blood-borne virus that can lead to liver scarring or liver cancer.

Treatment is aimed at helping the immune system eliminate the virus. Current therapy combines the drugs peginterferon and ribavirin, but fewer than half of the patients on it are cured. Telaprevir and similar drugs under development are a potential game-changer because they specifically attack the hepatitis C virus.

In the two studies, roughly two-thirds given telaprevir with standard therapy for six months showed no signs of the virus after six months, which doctors considered being cured of the disease. That compares with 40 percent to 50 percent on standard treatment alone.