Bristol-Myers Squibb and Vertex to study new hepatitis C treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb is allying with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to conduct research into a potential new combination therapy option for hepatitis C patients.

The non-exclusive agreement will see the companies carrying out studies of once-daily all-oral treatment regimens containing Vertex's nucleotide analogue hepatitis C virus (HCV) polymerase inhibitor VX-135 and Bristol-Myers Squibb's NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir.

An initial study involving treatment-naive patients with genotype 1 HCV infections is planned for the second quarter of 2013, with a subsequent study among people with genotype 1, 2 and 3 HCV set to follow later this year.

Dr Robert Kauffman, senior vice-president and chief medical officer at Vertex, said: "These studies with daclatasvir will provide the first opportunity to evaluate VX-135 as part of all-oral regimens in people with multiple hepatitis C genotypes and in people with cirrhosis."

This comes after Bristol-Myers Squibb recently announced plans to attend the forthcoming 2013 International Liver Congress, where it will share data on a range of new hepatitis B and C therapies.