Janssen receives Scottish approval for Incivo

Janssen has been granted approval from the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for its drug Incivo (telaprevir) to be used as a hepatitis C therapy for NHS patients.

The SMC has recommended that the product be made available, in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, for people afflicted by genotype-1 chronic hepatitis C who have not previously benefited from treatment.

Phase III clinical trials of the drug have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the new therapy option in comparison to the current standard of care, which is only successful in around 50 percent of patients.

Dr John Dillon, consultant hepatologist and gastroenterologist at the University of Dundee Ninewells Hospital, stated that the SMC ruling will open up new therapy avenues for patients.

"Treatment with a telaprevir-based regimen could provide a shorter treatment duration with improved response rates compared to standard treatment," he explained.

This follows the European Commission's decision to approve Janssen's new HIV treatment Edurant in Europe last month.