Gilead’s GS9450 falters in hepatitis C, but HIV combo component advances
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Gilead has unexpectedly halted a Phase II trial of its investigational caspase inhibitor GS9450 in patients with chronic hepatitis C due to safety concerns. The company tried to temper the unexpected news by emphasizing that Johnson & Johnson's NNRTI TMC278 (rilpivirine hydrochloride), which is being developed in part to be combined with Gilead's Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), met its primary endpoints in two pivotal Phase III HIV trials, but analysts were divided on the implications of this development.