The results come from a study investigating the cost-effectiveness of treating US patients who have mild chronic hepatitis C (CHC) using Pegasys (peginterferon alpha- 2a) plus Copegus (ribavirin).
Data for the cost effectiveness study were obtained from two phase III multinational, randomized, controlled trials of hepatitis C patients with genotype 1 with mild CHC who were treated with Pegasys 180mcg plus ribavirin 1000/1200mg/day. The impact of early virologic response (EVR) at week 12 on the cost of treatment was included in the model.
Compared with no treatment, in HCV genotype 1 patients with mild CHC, Pegasys plus ribavirin was found to be a cost-effective treatment strategy in the US setting. Pegasys plus ribavirin increased quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALY) by 1.46 years yielding an incremental cost per QALY gained of $3,513.
In addition to the cost-effectiveness analysis, Roche has also announced interim results from its REPEAT study showing that treatment with Pegasys plus Copegus successfully reduced viral levels after 12 weeks of therapy in many hepatitis C patients who had previously failed treatment with Schering-Plough’s Peg-Intron (peginterferon alpha-2b) plus ribavirin.
Interim results showed that 45% of patients treated with the standard dose of Pegasys with Copegus had an EVR, defined as having a greater than or equal to 2 log drop in viral load or having no detectable virus after 12 weeks of treatment.
An EVR rate of 62% was achieved in the group of patients treated with the higher fixed-dose induction of Pegasys with standard Copegus for the first 12 weeks of therapy.
In addition, the adverse event profiles were similar for patients taking the higher fixed-dose induction of Pegasys with Copegus for 12 weeks compared to those taking the standard dose. However, more patients in the higher fixed-dose induction group had their dose of Pegasys and ribavirin modified or were discontinued.
“The interim results from this study suggest that previous non-responders to treatment can still be re-treated with some success, particularly in those treated with the higher dose of Pegasys with ribavirin,” commented Dr Donald Jensen, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Liver Diseases at the University of Chicago. “In addition, the interim data show that the high dose of Pegasys is generally well tolerated by patients.”