Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

(VRUS VRTX IDIX GILD) The ‘Third’ HCV Drug in an All-Oral Cocktail

If I were to invest in VRUS… I would be looking more at what comes next vs. what other polymerases are in development. I get the sense Roche is likely going to add a 3rd (perhaps in addition to Ribavirin) compound to the all-oral mix in the mid-future. Could be a non-nucleoside or helicase inhibitor? Wouldn't even be surprised to see another protease (though people don't seem to think 2 protease inhibitors give you as much in the longer term) or even another mechanism I never heard of.

VRUS thinks the logical 3rd drug in an all-oral cocktail is a second nuke that complements the first nuke. The model for this in the HIV market is Truvada, and I need not mention the colossal success of that product.

My own opinion is that VRUS is on the right track, and an all-oral HCV cocktail of one PI plus two complementary nukes (ideally a purine plus a pyrimidine) could be just the ticket. Note that VRUS is seeking to develop a purine nuke to be combined with PSI-7851, which is a pyrimidine.