Introduction
An estimated 10 million people in the seven major markets have chronic HCV. The current standard of care, pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV), achieves long-term disease remission in approximately half of those receiving treatment. More efficacious therapies are required to improve treatment success in difficult-to-treat patients, in particular patients with HCV genotype 1.

Scope
Comprehensive overview of compounds in clinical development for HCV, including interferons, small molecule antivirals and immunomodulators
Revenue forecasts from 20062015 for key late-stage compounds and the HCV market as a whole
Appraisal of clinical trial design highlighting the rising complexity associated with patient stratification and the trend towards multidrug therapy
Expert opinion on late-stage drugs and their potential use, outlook on HCV therapy evolution and analysis of prevailing unmet needs
Highlights
Concomitant with new drug launches from 2009 onwards, the HCV market is estimated to double by 2010 and potentially quadruple by 2015. Growth will be driven mainly by the rapid uptake of new drugs, the premium prices these will be able to command and the expected increase in treatment rates.

Vertex' protease inhibitor VX-950 is the most promising antiviral in late-stage development. The drug has demonstrated potent reduction of HCV RNA following 14 or 28 days of therapy, prompting Vertex to assess the ability of VX-950 to shorten treatment duration to 12 weeks. Blockbuster potential will be conditional on favorable long-term toxicity.

HCV therapy is expected to evolve towards multidrug therapy consisting of drugs with complementary mechanisms of action. In an increasingly crowded market, attributes other than efficacy will gain importance, including favorable tolerability, convenient dosing, and lack of drug-drug interactions, particularly in HIV/HCV co-infection.

Reasons to Purchase
Understand key growth drivers in the mid to long-term HCV market and quantify the future size, scope and potential for new products
Optimize R&D strategies and clinical trial design in line with evolving treatment paradigms
Benchmark the HCV pipeline against currently marketed products and market needs