Schering-Plough Drugs Get Expanded EU OK
June 25, 2007
Schering-Plough said Monday the European Commission approved duo therapy of Pegintron and Rebetol for treating hepatitis C and HIV co-infections.
The drugs were previously approved for treating hepatitis C alone.
Effective treatment of HCV is critically important for people coinfected with HIV, as liver disease caused by chronic HCV infection is now a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among these patients, Josep Mallolas of the Hospital Clinic Universitari de Barcelona in Spain, a lead author of one of the studies supporting the approval, said in a statement issued by Schering-Plough.
The company estimates 40 percent of the approximately 2.5 million people infected with HIV in Europe are also infected with HCV.