EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Six months post-launch of Vertex’s Incivek (telapravir) and Merck/Roche’s Victrelis (boceprevir), specialists report a significant increase in usage of both products in their genotype 1 HCV patients compared to one month post-launch. Incivek remains the market share leader, though the gap in preference for Incivek over Victrelis is beginning to narrow compared to previous waves of research. Surveyed hepatologists reported using significantly more Incivek than infectious disease specialists.
In LaunchTrends®: Victrelis (boceprevir) and Incivek (telapravir) Wave 3 BioTrends surveyed a total of 83 physicians (gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and infectious disease specialists) and conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a subset of the respondents about their current perceptions, early experience and anticipated future use of these products. In addition, feedback around patient type, product satisfaction, patient influence, obstacles to use, and promotional activities is captured.
The recent uptake results mostly from growth in the prescriber base as well as an increased adoption from existing protease inhibitor prescribers; indicating that protease inhibitor triple therapy is becoming the new standard of care for genotype 1 HCV patients. At six months post-launch, more than 80% of physicians report having tried Incivek up from about 50% at one month post launch. Incivek is viewed as performing significantly better than Victrelis on use in treatment naïve patients, simplicity of regimen, shorter duration of therapy and no lead in required. Of the surveyed respondents, nearly three-quarters would prefer to use Incivek in a treatment naïve patient due to the lack of a lead in period.
Not all Genotype 1 patients are being treated with this new standard of care, however. Patient resistance to being re-treated with any interferon regimen is still quite high. On the flip side, 49% of the surveyed physicians do report trial for the protease inhibitors in other genotypes despite a lack of supportive clinical data. With regards to products in development, surveyed physicians report the greatest familiarity with Pharmasett’s PSI-7977, an investigational nucleoside polymerase inhibitor that is currently being tested in a phase 3 clinical trial without the use of interferon.
About LaunchTrends
LaunchTrends®: Incivek and Victrelis is a series of three post-launch syndicated reports designed to track the uptake of Merck’s Victrelis and Vertex’s Incivek at one month, three months and six months following launch. LaunchTrends® assesses trial and use of new products, barriers to use, reasons to use, typical patient types, line of therapy, product perceptions, promotional efforts/messages and product satisfaction.
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