26 June 2008-Roche announced today that the European Commission has approved a shortened, 16-week course of treatment with Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a (40 KD)) plus Copegus (ribavirin) for certain hepatitis C patients.
The four-month treatment course will be for patients with particular strains of chronic hepatitis C (genotype 2 or 3) who have low virus levels before starting treatment, and who show a rapid virological response by clearing the virus from the blood within the first 4 weeks of treatment. This shorter treatment duration with Pegasys/Copegus will provide patients with the full benefits of therapy while reducing unnecessary drug exposure.
This is good news for eligible patients as previously, all patients with genotype 2 or 3 hepatitis C (HCV) received 24 weeks of Pegasys/Copegus therapy, regardless of their baseline virus levels and response while on treatment.
The details can be read here.
No comments:
Post a Comment