Response-Guided Therapy Now a Reality for Some Hepatitis C Patients

A new drug regimen called response-guided therapy will reduce the length of treatment for certain patients with hepatitis C from 24 weeks to only 16.

Hepatitis C patients who have low levels of genotype 2 or 3 viruses before starting treatment, and who show a rapid virological response by clearing the virus from the blood within the first four weeks of treatment will be eligible for the new regimen according to guidelines recently approved by the European Commission. The treatment is based on the Roche (Basel, Switzerland) Pegasys system, which comprises peginterferon alfa-2a (40 KD) plus Copegus (ribavirin).

Response-guided therapy has been made practical through the use of Roche's highly sensitive, real-time PCR diagnostic tests, which accurately measure the levels of virus in the patient's blood. The automated COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV Test is the newest and most advanced Roche product for measuring hepatitis C virus levels.
"Response-guided therapy in hepatitis C is an excellent example of how Roche is uniquely positioned to individualize healthcare and deliver real benefit to patients, physicians, and healthcare payers by combining the power of innovative pharmaceuticals and diagnostics,” said William M. Burns, CEO, of Roche's pharmaceuticals division. "This approval for 16 weeks of treatment in genotype 2 and 3 patients with a rapid response demonstrates the value of using diagnostic tools to determine an individual treatment regimen and hopefully will encourage more eligible patients to come forward for treatment.”


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