New findings with Vertex/J&J's telaprevir bode well for hard to treat hepatitis C patients

A study co-authored by a Saint Louis University, USA, researcher found telaprevir, a protease inhibitor being developed by the USA's Vertex and drug major Johnson & Johnson, combined with standard hepatitis C treatment, cures a significantly higher number of difficult-to-treat patients than standard treatment alone. The findings were published in the April issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

If telaprevir trials conclude successfully, US Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug, which is predicted to garner blockbuster sales, is anticipated as soon as 2011.

A member of the international research team, Adrian Di Bisceglie, chairman and professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University, studied the effects of the protease inhibitor, telaprevir, one of a new class of antiviral drugs.