Merck's triple-combination treatment for hep C patients shows early promise

Merck presented results from Part A of a clinical study on two triple-combination treatment regimens for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes (GT) 1, 2 or 3 infection on Monday.

Initial results found that the test subjects had sustained virologic response 12 weeks after receiving the treatment regimens. In addition, HCV patients with GT1, 2 or 3 infection who received grazoprevir (100mg), MK-3682 (450mg) and MK-8408 (60mg) without ribavirin (RBV) for eight weeks demonstrated cure rates of greater than 90 percent.

“Merck’s chronic hepatitis C development program continues to focus on the goal of advancing a short-duration treatment regimen that offers high virologic cure rates across all viral genotypes,” Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of Global Clinical Development for Merck Research Laboratories, said.

Based on the positive results, Merck will further research grazoprevir, MK-8408 and MK-3682 during the second portion of the study.