Replies to post #71389 on Biotech Values

[mcbio]

Re: Role of interferon in HCV SoC

"The question is when, not if. Virtually everyone in the field thinks this will happen in due course."

Do you have any prediction as to when interferon treatments will be entirely replaced by small-molecule treatments for HCV? 5 years? 8 years? 10 years+?

[microcapfun]

IFN use in HCV

>>Quote:
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Are there any expectations that the new small-molecule treatments for HCV will entirely replace interferon in the future?
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The question is when, not if. Virtually everyone in the field thinks this will happen in due course. <<


This reminds me of the adage that a trillion flies can't be wrong; eat shit.
;o)

I would break up this question into two bite-sized pieces.

1. Is there any small-molecule treatment known which is likely to NOT have its efficacy (i.e. SVR) increased by co-administration with IFN alpha?

Although I don't follow this field very closely, I suspect that the answer is 'no'.

2. If the answer to #1 is 'no', is there a dose of co-administered IFN which increases efficacy by more than it increases AEs?

This is obviously an ill-defined question, yet I think the idea is clear. The well-known side effects associated with IFN increase with dose. So #2 basically asks if there a dose of IFN which can be co-administered with small molecule HCV treatment such that the SVR is significantly increased by the IFN w/o incapacitating treated HCV patients for 4, 2 or 1 weekends a month?

I don't know the answer to #2, but if the answer is 'yes', perhaps everyone in the field will turn out to be wrong!

micro