Merck and Vertex hep C protease data reveals contrasting market strategies
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
While new levels of details on the clinical performance of the two near-market hepatitis C protease inhibitors, Merck’s boceprevir and Vertex/Tibotec’s telaprevir, show that both compounds are likely to make a significant difference to patients, it is also becoming clear that the two compounds are being positioned very differently in the market. While Merck seems to be focused on specialist care with the company looking to identify those patients who are likely to respond best to boceprevir, Vertex/Tibotec is holding up telaprevir as a one-size-fits-all solution applicable across the board in community care.