Thoughts on ACHN and VRTX
As I pointed out before HCV developers are in a race to treat a non-durable patient population, a race like no other. That's why it's absurd we have two companies (VRTX and ACHN) dragging their feet with small mid-stage studies. Both companies are insecure about their platforms. ACHN's concern is failing safety with sovaprevir and setting back the two lead drugs in their pipeline. ACHN is in an awkward position where if they license their NS5A (ACH-3102) to a partner they will deflate the balloon (read speculative valuation) that the company is a takeover target. It would also prove to investors that the sovaprevir/3102 combo doesn't stand a chance in GT1 which should be obvious. Their fate is a poor licensing deal at best.
Suggestion: License a G-Nuke (IDX-368, LG-7501?), make a case for it, overcome mistakes of the past. It's time to take some chances.
I feel VRTX is in talks with some big players. VRTX's strategy is to put the pressure of getting to the pan-geno market quickly - in the lap of their licensing partners. VX-135 is a comparably weak Uridine nuke but it could work as a backbone to a pan-genotypic combo. Small studies are less likely to create unwelcome surprises (AKA ACHN). So they move slowly. VRTX's true ambitions in HCV may have died with telaprevir.
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