Achillion rides crest of hepatitis C wave
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Achillion could not have timed it better if it tried. A day after Merck & Co splurged $3.85bn for Idenix Pharmaceuticals' and its 'nucs' in a bid to challenge Gilead Sciences to the hepatitis C crown, comes news that the US FDA has lifted a clinical hold on Achillion's NS3/4A protease inhibitor sovaprevir. The firm has also begun dosing its nuc, ACH-3422, for seven days in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C. Proof-of-concept results from this trial are expected in the third quarter.