NICE backs Merck & Co hep C drug Victrelis

UK drug watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today (March 9) issued final draft guidance recommending Victrelis (boceprevir) in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, as an option for the treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C in adults with compensated liver disease.

US drug giant Merck & Co’s (NYSE: MRK) Victrelis, which has received regulatory approval in Europe and the USA, is the first major advancement for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C approved in a decade.

Figures from 2009 suggest that around 146,000 people in England and Wales were chronically infected with the hepatitis%-50% of people with hepatitis - and the most resistant to treatment. Poor diagnosis rates, low treatment compliance rates and a high annual incidence of new infection mean that chronic hepatitis C presents a major public health challenge, despite the availability of treatments that provide the opportunity to address this challenge, the NICE noted.