Merck touts positive hep C data

There's been plenty of new data on hepatitis C drugs coming from the 44^th Annual European Association for the Study of the Liver meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Yesterday, Schering-Plough came up with intriguing positive data on boceprevir. Today, Merck is releasing data on MK-7009. In a Phase IIa trial, 69 percent to 82 percent of patients taking standard therapies combined with the experimental therapy saw their viral loads drop to undetectable levels in 28 days. Ninety-five treatment naive chronic HCV patients were randomized across five treatment arms with regimens of MK-7009 300 mg or 600 mg twice daily, MK-7009 600 mg or 800 mg once daily, or placebo, for 28 days.  

 "In this ongoing study, MK-7009 in combination therapy rapidly lowered and generally maintained the amount of virus in the blood to below detectable levels in previously untreated HCV patients," said Robin Isaacs, vice president and therapeutic head for Infectious Diseases, Merck Research Laboratories.   "These preliminary results help us understand the efficacy and tolerability profile of MK-7009 and support the further development of MK-7009 for the treatment of HCV."

In addition, GlobeImmune reported that twelve-week Phase II clinical trial data showed that patients treated with GI-5005, its molecular immunogen for hepatitis C, had 94 percent early virologic response rate in treatment naïve patients.

- check out the press release from Merck
- read the release from GlobeImmune

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