Replies to post #63037 on Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

>Rumor is that R1626 is doa.<

It may be back from the dead and into its second life. My take on the drug’s future, FWIW: #msg-29022309.


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[DewDiligence]

Roche drops R1626 for HCV:

http://www.roche.com/investors/ir_update/inv-update-2008-10-21.htm

>>
Development of R1626, a polymerase inhibitor being investigated as a treatment for infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV), was terminated in the third quarter due to new and unexpected safety findings from a phase IIb study.
<<

These “unexpected” safety findings were neutropenia and they were, in fact, fully expected and were observed in Roche’s prior phase-2 study (#msg-19006768).

The demise of R1626 is not a huge loss for Roche because R7128, which Roche licensed from VRUS, is simply a better drug.

R7128 and ITMN-19, which is also owned by Roche, have the inside track for studies that test two novel HCV agents in combination.


<font size=3><font color=red> “The efficient-market hypothesis may be
the foremost piece of B.S. ever promulgated
in any area of human knowledge!”