Schering-Plough Highlights Hepatitis C Clinical Data Presentations at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Annu...( Final results from three large PEGINT...),Health

Final results from three large PEGINTRON(TM) clinical studies address key questions in the treatment of hepatitis C

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) today reported that final results of three large PEGINTRON(TM) (peginterferon alfa-2b) clinical studies address longstanding questions in the hepatitis C research community and provide important insights. The results of the studies, involving a total of more than 2,700 patients, were presented at the 44th European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 2009 Annual Meeting.

"Physicians are constantly looking for ways to improve hepatitis C treatment outcomes by increasing response rates or reducing side effects and making treatment more tolerable for their patients," said Robert J. Spiegel, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president, Schering-Plough Research Institute. "We undertook these large PEGINTRON studies to help investigators address these important clinical issues. Conducting these studies demonstrates Schering-Plough's longstanding commitment to investigating potential new treatment strategies for patients with hepatitis C."

Combination therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin is a recognized standard of care worldwide for treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Patients with HCV genotype 1, the most common and hardest to treat form of hepatitis C, are typically treated for 48 weeks, while patients with HCV genotypes 2 or 3 are treated for 24 weeks.

The aim of the three PEGINTRON studies was to evaluate investigational regimens in these patient populations compared to current standard practice.

Key Findings

PEGINTRON Maintenance Therapy in Cirrhotic (Metavir F4) HCV Patients Who Failed to Respond to Interferon
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