Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) joined the fight against hepatitis C with its most recent clinical study announcement. The company is joining the likes of Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) in producing hepatitis C vaccines, but it is still in the early clinical stages.
The market for hepatitis C is a decent size, and looking at Gilead’s most recent earnings report we can put some numbers to it. Gilead had $4.798 billion in hepatitis C vaccine sales, compared to analysts’ estimates of $4.5 billion.
Merck announced the presentation of results from the initial phase of its C-CREST 1 and 2 Phase 2 clinical development program evaluating two investigational all-oral, triple-combination treatment regimens. These consist of a regimen of grazoprevir, MK-36822 andelbasvir, and a regimen of grazoprevir, MK-3682 and MK-8408 — in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1, 2 or 3 infection.
All 240 enrolled patients completed eight weeks of treatment and reached follow-up 12 weeks after end of treatment.
The most commonly reported adverse events across all regimens with a greater than 10% incidence, were headache (23%), fatigue (20%) and nausea (13%). There were no drug-related serious adverse events and no discontinuations due to adverse events.
Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, Merck Research Laboratories, commented on the results:
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. The strong results observed in this study support the further investigation of the novel triple-combination regimen of grazoprevir, MK-3682 and MK-8408 in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
ALSO READ: 7 BioHealth Movers That Cannot Be Ignored
Shares of Merck traded up 0.4% to $53.24 Monday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $62.41 and a 52-week range of $45.69 to $63.62.
Gilead shares were at $102.68, up 0.1%, with a consensus price target of $125.00 and a 52-week trading range of $85.95 to $123.37.
Are You Still Paying With a Debit Card?
The average American spends $17,274 on debit cards a year, and it’s a HUGE mistake. First, debit cards don’t have the same fraud protections as credit cards. Once your money is gone, it’s gone. But more importantly you can actually get something back from this spending every time you swipe.
Issuers are handing out wild bonuses right now. With some you can earn up to 5% back on every purchase. That’s like getting a 5% discount on everything you buy!
Our top pick is kind of hard to imagine. Not only does it pay up to 5% back, it also includes a $200 cash back reward in the first six months, a 0% intro APR, and…. $0 annual fee. It’s quite literally free money for any one that uses a card regularly. Click here to learn more!
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings to provide coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
