USFDA Approves Hepatitis C Drug Incivek

With the approval of Incivek, there are now two important new treatment options for hepatitis C.

The US FDA has approved a new hepatitis C drug Incivek (telaprevir) manufactured by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Incivek becomes the second hepatitis C drug approved within two weeks, after almost a decade of no new treatments for the disease.

The drug will be made available to patients who have either not received interferon-based drug therapy for their infection or have not responded adequately to prior therapies.

Prior to the approvals, the standard of care for patients with chronic hepatitis C infection was peginterferon alfa and ribavirin for 48 weeks, but less than 50% of patients respond to this therapy.

A Phase III trial for Inci