New data for proprietary investigational antiviral therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection being developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc were presented at the Annual Meeting for the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Berlin, Germany.

The clinical and preclinical data presented highlight the potential of these therapies to address significant unmet medical needs in the treatment of HCV.

Vertex’s extensive drug development portfolio includes two different approaches for advancing the future standard-of-care in HCV. Merimepodib, Vertex’s lead oral therapy targeting HCV, is being developed in combination with the current therapeutic standard, pegylated interferon alpha (peg-IFN) and ribavirin, with the goal of enhancing antiviral efficacy and increasing the proportion of patients who achieve a sustained response to treatment.

Vertex is also developing VX-950, an investigational HCV protease inhibitor and one of the most advanced of a new class of direct antiviral agents for the treatment of chronic HCV infection. Vertex owns worldwide development and commercialization rights for both merimepodib and VX-950.

In a poster session at EASL, clinical investigators presented results for patients enrolled in the extension phase of a pilot Phase IIa study designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of merimepodib in combination with peg-IFN and ribavirin in a treatment-refractory population. Additionally, in oral presentations at EASL, Vertex scientists reported preclinical data highlighting the promising antiviral profile of VX-950, including in vitro data assessing the antiviral activity of VX-950 in combination with interferon alpha.

“The results presented at EASL provide strong support for initiating late-stage clinical development of merimepodib, as well as the first clinical studies of VX-950,” stated John Alam, M.D., senior vice president for Drug Evaluation and Approval at Vertex. “These are key milestones for Vertex and its interest in providing new therapies in HCV, and are anticipated in 2004. Vertex’s goal is to commercialize innovative therapies that will provide additional options for patients and enhance HCV clinical care.”