Friday, October 1, 2010

Leerink Swann Stock Analyst Says Vertex's Telaprevir™ Is Ahead -- Yep, That's Right


We have been over this a few times. Like ten of them -- but, now Forbes is quoting Howard Liang of Leerink Swann, in a note today:

. . . .“Apples-to-apples” comparison of boceprevir vs. telaprevir in treatment-experienced patients is possible for the first time and appears to favor telaprevir™. In prior relapsers, SVR was 69%-75% for boceprevir vs. 83-88% for telaprevir. In what we would call partial responders MRK has a different definition, SVR was 40-52% for boceprevir vs. 54-59% for telaprevir. Cross-trial comparisons are always difficult but we believe the totality and consistency of both treatment-experienced and treatment-naïve data give an impression that telaprevir may be more potent. . . .

[Forbes concludes that] Merck R&D head Peter Kim may have some answers to this question. He is going to the liver meeting where he will face lots of questions from Wall Street types about where Merck’s drug will fit in. He needs to rebut the doubts about his company’s drug. . . .

Except that facts are stubborn things -- he can't rebut the actual data, friend.

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