CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (TheStreet) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals'(VRTX Quote) experimental hepatitis C drug telaprevir was the star of last week's big hepatitis C research meeting, according to a well-respected doctor in the field who briefed institutional investors this afternoon.
* More from Adam Feuerstein
* Blood Cancer Meeting Abstracts Released: BioBuzz
* Bristol Licenses Arthritis Drug: BioBuzz
* Celgene in ASH Abstract Spotlight: BioBuzz
* Xoma Waffles on Timing of Drug Partnership: BioBuzz
* Ariad Upgraded, Xenoport Drug Delayed: BioBuzz
* Oculus, Bianco and Cel-Sci Oh My!: BioBuzz
* Biotech Stock Mailbag: Poniard Predictions
* BioCryst Competition for IV Flu Drug: BioBuzz
* BioCryst Winners and Losers: BioBuzz
* Cel-Sci's Lawyer Speaks: BioBuzz
* Market Activity
*
InterMune Incorporated| ITMN
DOWN
*
Human Genome Sciences Inc.| HGSI
UP
*
Pharmasset Incorporated| VRUS
DOWN
Dr. Stefan Zeuzem of the Saarland University Hospital in Germany was the featured speaker on an investor conference call sponsored by JMP Securities Monday. JMP analyst Liisa Bayko asked Zeuzem to offer his thoughts on the hits and misses coming from last week's annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease.
Zeuzem is a key opinion leader in Hep C, works with most if not all of the experimental drugs in clinical trials, and is therefore widely sought out by professional investors for insights into what's working -- or what's not -- in Hep C drug development.
Among Zeuzem's comments on Monday's conference call:
* Data from Vertex's telaprevir was the most important and discussed during the meeting. The high cure rates seen in the so-called C208 study of treatment-experienced patients were probably as high as the field will ever see with a protease inhibitor. Zeuzem also called the data on twice-daily dosing of telaprevir "convincing," but he's still cautious and would like to see additional, confirmatory data from a larger study.
* The Hep C field is moving quickly to test treatment with two direct anti-virals against the Hep C virus, and hopefully eliminate the need for long-acting interferon and ribavirin -- the current standard of care for the disease.
Zeuzem was impressed with the two-week antiviral activity shown in the so-called INFORM-1 study in both treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients. This study treats patients with a combination of InterMune's(ITMN Quote) RG7227 and Pharmasset's(VRUS Quote) RG7128. (The study is being co-sponsored by Roche, which co-owns development rights to both drugs.)
He also noted that other companies, including Vertex and Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMY Quote), plan to begin their own two-drug direct anti-viral combi
