Copenhagen EASL 2009 Update -- Half of the Boceprevir (Schering-Plough) patients developed anemia. Only two of 339 Teleprevir patients developed anemia, while seeing a 51 percent cure rate in "non-responder" patients (patients who failed prior Hep C treatments). Double. Match. Point. Quoth The Guardian
. . . .Red blood cell boosting anemia drugs were used in only two of 339 telaprevir patients, a far lower percentage than seen with an experimental Schering-Plough Corp drug, boceprevir. . . .
Wow!
3 comments:
Let's not be misleading here. Vertex did not allow Procrit use in their studies, and Schering did not mandate it; they merely made it available to investigators while Vertex prohibited its' use.
In any study using interferon and ribavirin the anemia rate (hemoglobin less than 10) is at least 30%. Any number less than that is not believable.
Fair point.
SPG is trying to spin anemia in its favor by saying it is a surrogate to SVR, and then tells physicians to use EPO, a black box drug not indicated for treatment of HCV.
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