Janssen Announces Phase III OPTIMIST Data

Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) has announced results for its hepatitis C treatment simeprevir at The International Liver Congress 2015 of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Vienna. Late-breaking results from the Phase III OPTIMIST-1 and OPTIMIST-2 trials highlight the clinical outcomes of simeprevir in an all-oral combination regimen in a wide range of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

“The new data for simeprevir presented at The International Liver Congress confirms its efficacy when combined with sofosbuvir in an all-oral, ribavirin-free regimen for HCV patients, including those who are treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced, both with and without cirrhosis,” said Gaston Picchio, hepatitis disease area leader, Janssen. “These data further demonstrate the role of simeprevir within the HCV treatment landscape, as it provides patients with an important therapeutic option.”

The results from the OPTIMIST-1 and OPTIMIST-2 trials are the first Phase III data to be presented on simeprevir in combination with sofosbuvir (SMV/SOF) in patients with genotype 1 chronic HCV infection, both with and without cirrhosis. Sofosbuvir is a nucleotide analog NS5B polymerase inhibitor developed by Gilead Sciences, Inc.