Novel agents will drive hep C virus drug market five-fold

The market to treat hepatitis C virus will grow by nearly five-fold during the next decade, increasing from about $2.0 billion in 2007 to more than $10.0 billion in 2017 in the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Japan, according to a new report from Decision Resources.

This expansion will be driven by the introduction of novel agents in the protease inhibitors and polymerase inhibitors drug classes that specifically target the hepatitis C virus. Among the range of products in clinical development, the most promising agents in these classes include Vertex/Johnson & Johnson/Mitsubishi Tanabe's telaprevir, Schering-Plough's boceprevir, Roche's R-1626, Roche/Pharmasset's R-7128, Roche/InterMune's ITMN-191, Johnson & Johnson unit Tibotec's TMC-43535, and Pfizer's PF-868554. Currently-available clinical data suggest that all of these orally-administered agents have the potential to significantly improve the efficacy of treatment, achieving higher sustained virologic response than current treatment, particularly in difficult-to-treat genotype 1 patients. For more information, visit: www.decisionresources.com.