Schering-Plough and Valeant sign hepatitis drug agreement

Schering-Plough has announced that it has signed a definitive worldwide licensing agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Metabasis Therapeutics for the development and commercial rights to pradefovir.

Pradefovir is an investigational oral compound for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B that is currently in undergoing clinical trials at phase II. Valeant licensed the drug from Metabasis in 2000 and has since been investigating its efficacy and safety for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

The compound is a PMEA pro-drug utilising HepDirect technology from Metabasis to facilitate higher concentrations in the liver, where the hepatitis B virus is concentrated.

Robert J Spiegel, chief medical officer and senior vice president of Schering-Plough Research Institute, said: “Pradefovir has the potential to offer improved treatment options for patients with chronic hepatitis B, a serious blood-borne infection affecting some 400 million people worldwide.”

He added that the company would continue its internal research programmes in addition to strategic partnerships to investigate treatments for hepatitis, specifically orally administered antiviral pharmaceuticals.

In October, Schering-Plough announced data from the ongoing Epic3 clinical study that showed retreatment with a combination of Peg-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b) and Rebetol (rivavrin, USP) may result in a sustained virologic respionse in chronic hepatitis C patients who had previously failed treatment with alpha interferon-based combination therapies.