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Some patients who received extended treatment with potential hepatitis C drug telaprevir showed an improvement in their condition, according to its manufacturer Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Patients who responded quickly to treatment with telaprevir enjoyed better results after 24 weeks of therapy than after 12, the company said.
However it added that extending therapy to 48 weeks brought no benefit.
After 24 weeks of treatment, 92% of patients who responded well to telaprevir had undetectable levels of the hepatitis C virus, the research revealed.
After 48 weeks, 88% of patients had undetectable virus levels. In an earlier study, participants were chosen to receive extended treatment if their virus levels was undetectable after 4 weeks and 12 weeks of treatment.
Vertex plans to file for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of telaprevir by the end of 2010.
Copyright Press Association 2010
