Drug & Device Development

Roche's Pegasys shown advantageous for treatment of hepatitis B

Last Updated: 2003-10-28 16:39:36 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Michael Shields

ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG unveiled on Tuesday results of a clinical trial that showed its Pegasys interferon to be superior to standard therapy for the hardest-to-treat form of hepatitis B.

The phase III trial presented at a U.S. medical congress showed Pegasys was more effective than lamivudine in treating patients with "variant" hepatitis B and that adding lamivudine to Pegasys did not make it work any better.

The 537-patient trial found 42.9% of those treated with Pegasys alone saw the amount of virus in their bloodstreams fall to the desired level, while only 29.3% of those on lamivudine did.

Roche said it would seek regulatory approval for Pegasys in hepatitis B treatment next year.