Bristol-Myers Squibb launches Daklinza in the UK for chronic hepatitis C

US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has launched Daklinza (daclastavir) in the UK for chronic hepatitis C in adults. Daklinza works across multiple hepatitis C genotypes and does not include interferon, which often causes sustained flu-like side effects.

The drug offered clinical cure rates of 98% in patients with hepatitis C genotype 1 and 89% in genotype 3 when combined with sofosbuvir, and when combined with peginterferon alfa and ribarivin offers cure rates of up to 100% in genotype 4. Daklinza will compete in the market with Gildead Sciences’ (Nasdaq: GILD) new blockbuster hepatitis C drug Sovaldi (sofosbuvir).

Daclastavir received priority review from the European Medicines Agency owing to the unmet need in the hepatitis C population. It is usually asymptomatic in the early years of the disease, which explains why as many as half of sufferers may be undiagnosed. Deaths from the virus have nearly quadrupled since 1996 in the UK, and estimates show that only 3% of infected people are treated each year.