Merck Sharpe and Dohme’s Victrelis receives NICE recommendation

Merck Sharpe and Dohme has been granted a new recommendation from the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) endorsing the unrestricted use of its hepatitis C treatment Victrelis.

A final appraisal determination has been issued by the British regulator that recommends the treatment for use in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin for genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C among adults with compensated liver disease.

This is the first approval of its kind for any direct-acting antiviral therapy for this infection type and follows an accelerated assessment showing that treatment with Victrelis offers a greater chance of recovery than dual therapy alone.

Based on this conclusion, NICE has deemed Merck Sharpe and Dohme's drug to be a "cost-effective use of NHS resources".

Professor Graham Foster of Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry said: "It will now be important to ensure that patients have easy access to the high-quality care that they need to give them the best chance of clearing the virus."

Last month, the company announced plans to file for US approval of a new drug called suvorexant, an investigational therapy for insomnia.