Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Re: Combining HCV nukes (VRUS IDIX)

With respect to the reference that Roche wants to test RG7128 with other non-PIs, what do you think of my speculation in #msg-46762882 that VRUS' PSI-7977 or IDIX's IDX184, both nukes, could be prime candidates for a Roche partnership?

In general, one gets more antiviral bang for the buck by combining a pyrimidine nuke and a purine nuke than by combining two pyrimidines or two purines. Since RG7128 (cytidine) and PSI-7977 (uridine) are both pyrimidine nukes, RG7128 + PSI-7977 is probably not an ideal combination.

It would be more logical for Roche to combine RG7128 with either IDX184 or PSI-938/PSI-879, all of which are purine (guanosine) nukes. Among these purine nukes, IDX184 is of course the furthest advanced.