Ribavirin News and Research

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Ribavirin, also known as Copegus, Rebetol, Virazole, or a component of Rebetron, is a type of antiviral medicine called a nucleoside analogue. This medicine blocks the ability of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) to make more copies of itself. Ribavirin is not active against HIV. Ribavirin is used in combination with interferon alfa-2a or -2b or peginterferon alfa-2a or -2b to treat HIV infected patients who are also infected with HCV.

Janssen begins Phase 3 OPTIMIST trials for treatment of chronic Genotype 1 HCV infection

Janssen R&D Ireland (Janssen) announced today that two Phase 3 trials are recruiting patients to examine the efficacy and safety of the NS3/4A protease inhibitor simeprevir in combination with the nucleotide inhibitor sofosbuvir for the treatment of chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients with and without cirrhosis.

3 Apr 2014

Gilead reports topline results from sofosbuvir Phase 3 trial in Japan for treatment of HCV infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced topline results from a Phase 3 clinical trial (Study GS-US-334-0118) in Japan evaluating the once-daily nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir in combination with ribavirin (RBV) for the treatment of genotype 2 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

3 Apr 2014

Russian Ministry of Health approves Medivir's simeprevir for chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection

Medivir AB announced today that the Russian Ministry of Health has approved Sovriad (simeprevir) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection, in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, in adults with compensated liver disease (including cirrhosis) who are treatment naïve or who have failed previous interferon therapy (pegylated or non-pegylated) with or without ribavirin. Russia will be the first country within EMEA to gain access to simeprevir, which represents a significant advance in hepatitis C treatment.

24 Mar 2014

Medivir announces phase III ATTAIN study of simeprevir inhibitor in treatment of adult patients with HCV

Medivir AB today announced that new phase III data for the once-daily protease inhibitor simeprevir have been presented at the Conference of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) in Brisbane, Australia.

19 Mar 2014

Experimental drugs offer hope for people with hepatitis C

Patrizia Cazzaniga had heard the horror stories about early treatments for hepatitis C - multiple daily pills and weekly shots for up to a year, side effects that could be debilitating, and a cure rate of only about 40 percent.

11 Mar 2014

Boehringer Ingelheim reports results from SVR12 Phase 3 trial in patients with HCV/HIV co-infection

Today Boehringer Ingelheim announced results from STARTVerso4 in patients with HCV/HIV co-infection. Hepatitis C viral cure 12 weeks after the conclusion of treatment (SVR12) was achieved by 72% of all patients in the trial. Patients were enrolled in either 120mg or 240mg faldaprevir dose groups.

6 Mar 2014

Merck announces new data from ongoing C-WORTHY Study in HIV/HCV co-infected patients

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced new data from HIV/HCV co-infected patients in the ongoing C-WORTHY Study, a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Merck's all-oral, once-daily regimen combining MK-5172, an investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3/4A protease inhibitor, and MK-8742, an investigational HCV NS5A replication complex inhibitor.

5 Mar 2014

AbbVie's PEARL-III study meets primary, secondary endpoints in patients with chronic GT1b HCV infection

The first detailed results from AbbVie's pivotal phase III study, PEARL-III, were presented today as part of the 21st Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) press conference and will also be presented as a late-breaker at the conference on March 4.

4 Mar 2014

Study findings suggest potential targets for treating HCV

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has a previously unrecognized tactic to outwit antiviral responses and sustain a long-term infection. It also turns out that some people are genetically equipped with a strong countermeasure to the virus' attempt to weaken the attack on it.

11 Feb 2014

Gilead submits NDA to FDA for fixed-dose combination of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir for hepatitis C infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced that the company has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a once-daily fixed-dose combination of the NS5A inhibitor ledipasvir (LDV) 90 mg and the nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir (SOF) 400 mg for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection in adults.

11 Feb 2014

AbbVie's global sales reduce 1.8% to $5.111B in fourth quarter 2013

AbbVie today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2013.

31 Jan 2014

Daclatasvir–sofosbuvir combo effective in chronic HCV infection

Research shows that the combination of daclatasvir and sofosbuvir leads to high rates of sustained virologic response in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, including those who have not responded to previous therapy.

24 Jan 2014

Bristol-Myers Squibb fourth quarter 2013 revenues increase 6% to $4.4 billion

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today reported results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2013. The fourth quarter was highlighted by the company's announcement to sell its diabetes business as part of the continued evolution of its successful BioPharma strategy to a specialty care model. The company achieved important regulatory milestones in the quarter for Eliquis in the U.S., daclatasvir/asunaprevir in Japan, daclatasvir in Europe and Farxiga in the U.S. In addition, the company provided financial guidance for 2014.

24 Jan 2014

Gilead Sciences gets marketing authorization from European Commission for Sovaldi 400 mg tablets

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) 400 mg tablets, a once-daily oral nucleotide analogue polymerase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection in adults, in combination with other antiviral agents (ribavirin and pegylated interferon alpha (peg-IFN)).

18 Jan 2014

New drug combination proves effective in treatment of hepatitis C

Efforts to cure hepatitis C, the liver-damaging infectious disease that has for years killed more Americans than HIV/AIDS, are about to get simpler and more effective, according to new research at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere.

16 Jan 2014

Data show that HCV genotype-1 infected patients may benefit from faldaprevir

Data show that Boehringer Ingelheim’s second-generation protease inhibitor faldaprevir, when used in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, was effective even with the presence of naturally-occurring mutant variants of the hepatitis C virus, such as the NS3 Q80K polymorphism

16 Dec 2013

Medivir initiates phase IIa trial to evaluate efficacy of simeprevir combination therapy in HCV-infected patients

Medivir AB (STO:MVIR-B) (OMX: MVIR), announces the initiation of a phase IIa trial in chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C infected patients to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of a 12-week combination therapy of simeprevir, TMC647055 and JNJ56914845, a NS5A replication complex inhibitor.

12 Dec 2013

HCV antiviral therapy also improves diabetes outcomes

Researchers from Taiwan reveal that antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus improves kidney and cardiovascular outcomes for patients with diabetes. Results of the study published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that incidences of kidney disease, stroke, and heart attack were lower in patients treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin compared to HCV patients not treated with antivirals or diabetic patients not infected with the virus.

12 Dec 2013

EMA grants accelerated assessment to Boehringer Ingelheim's Faldaprevir compound

The application for European marketing authorisation of faldaprevir, a potent second generation oral protease inhibitor, has been fully validated and granted accelerated assessment by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

26 Nov 2013

FDA approves OLYSIO (simeprevir) for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection

Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP, announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved OLYSIO (simeprevir), an NS3/4A protease inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection as part of an antiviral treatment regimen in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in genotype 1 infected adults with compensated liver disease, including cirrhosis.

23 Nov 2013