Roche licenses hep C drug from ICN

Roche has licensed the rights to the hepatitis C treatment levovirinfrom ICN Pharmaceuticals. The former company has developed a pegylated version of interferon alfa-2a, called PegaSys, presently approved in Europe (Marketletter June 5, 2000) and pending US Food and Drug Administration approval, which it plans to use in combination with levovirin in order to "set a new standard" in the treatment of hepatitis C.

Phase I clinical trials began on levovirin earlier this year. The compound is a second-generation drug derived from ribavirin, ICN's already-marketed drug for hepatitis C, and has shown a similar immuno-modulatory activity to ribavirin in preclinical trials, alongside an enhanced tolerability profile. Furthermore, the drug does not appear to cause hemolytic anemia, which is a major dose-limiting factor associated with other hepatitis treatments.

This move by Roche is an effort to boost its product pipeline, and the company hopes this will drive it a step ahead of Schering-Plough, which had an option to licence levovirin from ICN but did not take it up, in the hepatitis market. Analysts say that, currently, Roche's Pegasys seems to have the edge over S-P's rival product PEG-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b) in clinical trials, according to the Financial Times, but the US launch has been held up by closer-than-expected scrutiny from regulators, giving S-P a head start in the market. However, Mark Booty of Commerzbank said that levovirin "has the hallmarks of a serious competitor" and could give Roche the edge it needs to catch up with PEG-Intron.