Novartis targets China with hepatitis drug

pharmafile | March 30, 2006 | News story | Research and Development  

Novartis says trials of its new hepatitis drug in Chinese patients show it to be superior to standard treatment, in a move calculated to break into the highly lucrative market.

The pharma company is hoping to gain a foothold for its new drug in China's potentially highly lucrative market, which has the highest rates of hepatitis B infection anywhere in the world.

China has the single largest population affected by the hepatitis B virus, with 120 million infected – a staggering figure of nearly 1 in 10 of the whole population – and 30 million chronic sufferers.

The company says a head-to-head trial conducted in China between its telbivudine and GSK's Zeffix (lamivudine) shows Novartis' drug was superior at fighting the virus.

Principal investigator Dr. Jinlin Hou said: "These data suggest that telbivudine, if approved in China, may become an important new treatment option for the millions of Chinese patients with this potentially life-threatening disease."

The company filed the drug in the US and Europe in February, and analysts forecast peak global sales of $150 – 250 million.

 

 

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