Bristol-Myers Squibb reports positive data from hepatitis C drug trial

Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced positive results from ALLY-1, a phase III clinical trial evaluating a promising new treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV).

The study evaluated a 12-week regimen of daclatasvir in combination with sofosbuvir, administered once-daily with ribavirin, for the treatment of patients with chronic HCV with either advanced cirrhosis or post-liver transplant recurrence of HCV.

It was revealed that 97 percent of post-transplant patients with HCV genotype 1a achieved cure status, as well as 91 percent of those with HCV genotype 3, meaning the therapy was able to meet its primary efficacy endpoints.

In conjunction with previous data from the ALLY-2 and ALLY-3 studies, the results demonstrate the versatility of the daclatasvir-based regimen to cure HCV in patient populations that have been historically hard to manage.

Dr Douglas Manion, head of specialty development at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: "Post-liver transplant and cirrhotic patients represent a still unmet need and continue to present challenges to currently available regimens."

Daclatasvir was approved for sale in Europe under the brand name Daklinza last year.