A cure for hepatits C?

[techs]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/busin...nnlx=1139328044-DziETgKMY7rQrn/iqRE6Iw
Vertex is expected to announce today that when its drug, VX-950, was added to current common therapy, the virus became undetectable in the blood of all 12 patients tested after four weeks. The results could buttress the company's case that the drug will reduce treatment time for the toughest strain of the virus to three months, compared with about a year under current treatments.

"We haven't seen data like this before, where everybody's negative so early on in treatment," said Dr. John G. McHutchison, a professor at Duke and a coordinator of VX-950 trials. Dr. McHutchison, a consultant to Vertex and many other companies, said that the existing therapy reduced the virus to an undetectable level in only about 30 percent of patients after a four-week period.

For all the drug's promise, though, some analysts emphasize that the results are from a very small sample of patients in early-stage clinical trials, and that the stock may be getting ahead of itself. Some are also wary of Mr. Boger's reputation as a zealous cheerleader. The company has had to abandon what it hoped were promising drugs in the past.

hepatitis C, a liver-destroying virus that infects about three million Americans, kills 10,000 of them a year and is the leading reason for liver transplants in this country.

With donated blood now being screened for the hepatitis C virus, virtually eliminating that source of infection, only about 25,000 new infections a year occur in the United States. But because of the large number of baby boomers infected years ago, specialists estimate that the number of deaths from hepatitis C will triple in coming years, to 30,000 annually. The problem is greater outside the United States, with an estimated 170 million infected globally.


Very promising. Maybe the pharmaceutical companies will find a cure for the common cold next?

 

[Meuge]

I am skeptical. I'll see if I can look up their publications and post back with an analysis. If it looks promising, I'll speak with some experts and post their take on the drug here as well.

 

[Meuge]

I've read the literature on the discovery of the drug and the mechanism of its action. So let me summarize it.

Here's a quick recap of Hepatitis C virology relevant to this discovery (my quick and dirty summary):

Hepatitis C genome is organized in such a manner that when the RNA of the virus is translated into protein, the result is one very long polypeptide, which contains all of the polypeptide sequences of the viral proteins. Thus, before these proteins can function, the polypeptide needs to be cleaved (cut) at specific points, to free the final protein products. The enzyme responsible for this is one of the viral protein products - the HCV protease.

And this is what the drug does:

The drug is a result of small-molecule screening, wherefore the protease was exposed to a huge number of small peptides, designed to be likely candidates to inhibit the action of the protease. The VX-950 is one of those molecules. It inhibits the viral protease, thus preventing the virus from producing functional protein, and preventing viral replication. It is a static drug, in that it causes the cessation of viral replication, but is NOT curative.

And this is the problem with it:

As with all small-molecule-based enzyme inhibitors, resistance is a huge issue. Hepatitis C genome is not very stable, and it is likely that resistance to the drug will develop quickly, due to the tremendous selective pressure a replication block presents.

So in my judgement this drug is mostly hype. True it might help a FEW people, in conjuction with interferon alpha/ribavarin combo that is the mainstay of current therapy (a very very unpleasant mainstay)... but because the drug does not kill the virus, it is likely that resistance will quickly defeat its usefulness... possibly even within the course of an infection in the very individuals being treated.

Next I'll review the clinical studies and post my final take on the drug. I'll discuss the final conclusion after I read those papers.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: Meuge
I've read the literature on the discovery of the drug and the mechanism of its action. So let me summarize it.

Here's a quick recap of Hepatitis C virology relevant to this discovery (my quick and dirty summary):

Hepatitis C genome is organized in such a manner that when the RNA of the virus is translated into protein, the result is one very long polypeptide, which contains all of the polypeptide sequences of the viral proteins. Thus, before these proteins can function, the polypeptide needs to be cleaved (cut) at specific points, to free the final protein products. The enzyme responsible for this is one of the viral protein products - the HCV protease.

And this is what the drug does:

The drug is a result of small-molecule screening, wherefore the protease was exposed to a huge number of small peptides, designed to be likely candidates to inhibit the action of the protease. The VX-950 is one of those molecules. It inhibits the viral protease, thus preventing the virus from producing functional protein, and preventing viral replication. It is a static drug, in that it causes the cessation of viral replication, but is NOT curative.

And this is the problem with it:

As with all small-molecule-based enzyme inhibitors, resistance is a huge issue. Hepatitis C genome is not very stable, and it is likely that resistance to the drug will develop quickly, due to the tremendous selective pressure a replication block presents.

So in my judgement this drug is mostly hype. True it might help a FEW people, in conjuction with interferon alpha/ribavarin combo that is the mainstay of current therapy (a very very unpleasant mainstay)... but because the drug does not kill the virus, it is likely that resistance will quickly defeat its usefulness... possibly even within the course of an infection in the very individuals being treated.

Next I'll review the clinical studies and post my final take on the drug. I'll discuss the final conclusion after I read those papers.

At the moment I believe they're touting it as a supplement to current therapy. The basis of the drug is really no different than that of the HIV protease inhibitors. And, just like with any antibiotic, using it will almost certainly lead to the emergence of resistant strains - it's evolution. But that's no reason not to use it, assuming of course that the clinical trials show that it works.

 

[ntdz]

Originally posted by: techs
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/busin...nnlx=1139328044-DziETgKMY7rQrn/iqRE6Iw
Vertex is expected to announce today that when its drug, VX-950, was added to current common therapy, the virus became undetectable in the blood of all 12 patients tested after four weeks. The results could buttress the company's case that the drug will reduce treatment time for the toughest strain of the virus to three months, compared with about a year under current treatments.

"We haven't seen data like this before, where everybody's negative so early on in treatment," said Dr. John G. McHutchison, a professor at Duke and a coordinator of VX-950 trials. Dr. McHutchison, a consultant to Vertex and many other companies, said that the existing therapy reduced the virus to an undetectable level in only about 30 percent of patients after a four-week period.

For all the drug's promise, though, some analysts emphasize that the results are from a very small sample of patients in early-stage clinical trials, and that the stock may be getting ahead of itself. Some are also wary of Mr. Boger's reputation as a zealous cheerleader. The company has had to abandon what it hoped were promising drugs in the past.

hepatitis C, a liver-destroying virus that infects about three million Americans, kills 10,000 of them a year and is the leading reason for liver transplants in this country.

With donated blood now being screened for the hepatitis C virus, virtually eliminating that source of infection, only about 25,000 new infections a year occur in the United States. But because of the large number of baby boomers infected years ago, specialists estimate that the number of deaths from hepatitis C will triple in coming years, to 30,000 annually. The problem is greater outside the United States, with an estimated 170 million infected globally.


Very promising. Maybe the pharmaceutical companies will find a cure for the common cold next?

Those evil drug companies, they don't give a ****** about the consumers, it's just all about ripping everyone off.

Glad to see a cure for Hep C, it's a nasty disease.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: ntdz

Originally posted by: techs
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/busin...nnlx=1139328044-DziETgKMY7rQrn/iqRE6Iw
Vertex is expected to announce today that when its drug, VX-950, was added to current common therapy, the virus became undetectable in the blood of all 12 patients tested after four weeks. The results could buttress the company's case that the drug will reduce treatment time for the toughest strain of the virus to three months, compared with about a year under current treatments.

"We haven't seen data like this before, where everybody's negative so early on in treatment," said Dr. John G. McHutchison, a professor at Duke and a coordinator of VX-950 trials. Dr. McHutchison, a consultant to Vertex and many other companies, said that the existing therapy reduced the virus to an undetectable level in only about 30 percent of patients after a four-week period.

For all the drug's promise, though, some analysts emphasize that the results are from a very small sample of patients in early-stage clinical trials, and that the stock may be getting ahead of itself. Some are also wary of Mr. Boger's reputation as a zealous cheerleader. The company has had to abandon what it hoped were promising drugs in the past.

hepatitis C, a liver-destroying virus that infects about three million Americans, kills 10,000 of them a year and is the leading reason for liver transplants in this country.

With donated blood now being screened for the hepatitis C virus, virtually eliminating that source of infection, only about 25,000 new infections a year occur in the United States. But because of the large number of baby boomers infected years ago, specialists estimate that the number of deaths from hepatitis C will triple in coming years, to 30,000 annually. The problem is greater outside the United States, with an estimated 170 million infected globally.


Very promising. Maybe the pharmaceutical companies will find a cure for the common cold next?

Those evil drug companies, they don't give a ****** about the consumers, it's just all about ripping everyone off.

Glad to see a cure for Hep C, it's a nasty disease.

I would be glad to see a cure, too.

This isn't a cure.

I'm not saying it isn't good progress towards a cure, or that pharmaceutical companies deserve flak for developing it, but it is not a cure.