Merck Sharp and Dohme and Bristol-Myers Squibb to trial HCV therapy

Merck Sharp and Dohme and Bristol-Myers Squibb are to collaborate on a new clinical trial of a potentially promising combination therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.

The companies are looking to establish the safety and efficacy of a once-daily oral regimen consisting of Bristol-Myers Squibb's NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir and Merck's NS3/4A protease inhibitor MK-5172 against chronic genotype 1 HCV infections.

An early-stage study has already demonstrated the safety of the investigational regimen, with the prospect of an effective all-oral therapy for this condition offering a number of key benefits for patients.

Dr Eliav Barr, vice-president for infectious diseases and project leadership and management at Merck Research Laboratories, said: "In HCV, agreements like this that combine novel investigational candidates are important to evaluate the potential of novel oral regimens early in the development cycle."

Earlier this week, it was announced that Merck Sharp and Dohme has out-licensed its investigational compound MK-0657 to Cerecor, which will investigate the therapy as a treatment for depression.