Replies to post #77170 on Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

ITMN VRUS – Dan Welch’s CC comments on INFORM-1:

…clearly there is room for improved efficacy - which is why i felt any indication otherwise, as implied by the statement "more log drop was not possible" is misleading

I both agree and disagree.

I too found Welch’s comment that the median drop in viral load was maxed out to be misleading. Welch presumably intended to convey that further improvements in efficacy could not be achieved for any patient but, as you pointed out, the data do not support such a contention.

On the other hand, the efficacy seen to date in the INFORM-1 study does suggest that the combination of ITMN-191 and R7128 will have enough efficacy to get the job done once the doses and duration of treatment are optimized, so in this sense Welch’s implied message was not really off-base.

Efficacy in halting viral replication is hardly ever the limiting factor for HCV cocktails that incorporate a direct antiviral inasmuch as the direct antiviral drugs in development are very effective at impeding some step in the viral-replication process. Rather, the limiting factor for HCV cocktails that incorporate a direct antiviral is almost always the tolerability and resistance profile. Based on the INFORM-1 data presented to date, I see no reason to think the that combination of ITMN-191 and R7128 will be any different in this regard.