November 21, 2013

Current Hepatitis C Virus Regimens to Face Stiff Competition with the Launch of Gilead's Sofosbuvir and Janssen/Medivir's Simeprevir

Surveyed Physicians Expect Nearly 20 Percent of Their Actively Treated HCV Patients to Be On a Newly Approved Regimen, According to a New Report from BioTrends Research Group

EXTON, Pa., Nov. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BioTrends Research Group, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for specialized biopharmaceutical issues, finds that, following the launches of Gilead's sofosbuvir and Janssen/Medivir's simeprevir in the United States, currently marketed triple (Vertex's Incivek- and Merck's Victrelis-containing regimens) and dual therapy hepatitis C virus (HCV) regimens will lose market share to sofosbuvir-and simeprevir-based regimens. When asked about treatment practices in the next six months, surveyed physicians plan to treat 17 percent of their genotype 1 and 21 percent of their actively treated genotype 2/3 HCV patients with a sofosbuvir- and/or simeprevir-containing regimen.

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The report entitled TreatmentTrends®: Hepatitis C Virus (US), Wave 2 also finds that the majority of surveyed physicians reported, unaided, that they are currently warehousing HCV patients in anticipation of new therapies, with nearly 30 percent of this warehousing specifically attributed to waiting for access to sofosbuvir/polymerase inhibitors. While most surveyed physicians are warehousing treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients as they wait for the approval of simeprevir, sofosbuvir and/or other interferon-free therapy options, only 12 percent of surveyed physicians indicated they are satisfied with currently approved therapies.

"In anticipation of availability of new directly-acting antivirals, the shift in the HCV treatment paradigm is already apparent," said BioTrends Research Group Analyst Sandra Renz. "With the imminent approval of simeprevir and sofosbuvir – agents offering potentially shorter treatment duration, possible interferon-free regimens, improved safety and tolerability profiles and higher cure rates – physicians are eagerly awaiting these new regimens and holding off on prescribing treatment until they are part of the arsenal."

The study also finds that at least one-third of surveyed physicians have received a patient request for one of the currently available HCV brands in the past month. Further, a subset of surveyed physicians has already received patient requests for sofosbuvir and simeprevir, suggesting that awareness of these products exists among patients even ahead of their anticipated U.S. launch later this year.

TreatmentTrends®: Hepatitis C Virus (US), Wave 2 is a report that covers the use of agents for the treatment of HCV infections. This biannual study focuses on current and future use of leading HCV treatment regimens, patient market share, perceived strengths and weaknesses of the key brands, barriers to broader usage, sales force performance and perceived value of manufacturers' patient assistance programs. In addition, this report assesses potential impact of regimens in development, including AbbVie's ABT-267, ABT-333 and ABT-450/r, Boehringer Ingelheim's faldaprevir and deleobuvir, Bristol-Myers Squibb's asunaprevir and daclatasvir, Gilead's ledipasivr and sofosbuvir and simeprevir. In the current wave of research, BioTrends surveyed 98 U.S. gastroenterologists, hepatologists and infectious disease specialists in September 2013.

About BioTrends Research Group
BioTrends Research Group provides syndicated and custom primary market research to pharmaceutical manufacturers competing in clinically evolving, specialty pharmaceutical markets. For information on BioTrends publications and research capabilities, please visit www.bio-trends.com. BioTrends is a Decision Resources Group company.

About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources Group at www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks of their respective holders.

For more information, contact:

Decision Resources Group
Christopher Comfort
781-993-2597
ccomfort@dresources.com

SOURCE BioTrends Research Group

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