Roche: Pegasys receives NICE approval

Roche has announced that NICE has approved Pegasys, its treatment for mild hepatitis C.

Pegasys, known by its generic name as pegylated interferon alpha 2a, has been recommended for hepatitis C1 patients before measurable liver damage occurs.

Roche claims that the drug’s introduction on the NHS means that hundreds of thousands of patients could avoid hepatitis C symptoms progressing to liver cirrhosis or cancer – and perhaps provide an early cure for some. Until today, hepatitis C patients had to wait for treatment until liver scarring or fibrosis occurred and only after a liver biopsy.

However, Pegasys can be prescribed without the need for a liver biopsy first.

Charles Gore from the Hepatitis C Trust, remarked: “This is excellent news for our ongoing battle against hepatitis C.

“Many patients are deterred from treatment by the thought of a liver biopsy or instead are forced to endure a lengthy wait before a biopsy can be conducted.”

“Now patients can be effectively treated while the damage caused by this virus is still limited,” he concluded.

The most recent estimates from NICE state that between 200,000 and 500,000 Britons are infected with the hepatitis C virus, creating a large market potential for Pegasys.

In addition to Pegasys, Schering-Plough’s ViraferonPeg was also approved by NICE. For peginterferon monotherapy, the cost of treatment is 6,339 pounds for a course of 12 months.

For hepatitis virus genotypes two and three, a treatment of 180mg per day of Pegasys with ribavirin will cost 5,019 pounds per 48 weeks and between 10,963 and 11,889 pounds per 48 weeks for genotypes one, four, five and six, as the dosages required are larger and more dependent on patient body mass.

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