New Study Shows That Pegasys Regimen Provides Higher Cure Rates for Hepatitis C Patients

Basel, Switzerland, November 1 (ots/PRNewswire) - A new,
independently-conducted study being presented at AASLD shows that
PEGASYS(R) (peginterferon alfa-2a (40KD)) regimens result in higher
cure rates for hepatitis C patients compared to regimens with another
pegylated interferon.(1)

Comparing Today's Standard Treatment Regimens: The Milan Safety
Tolerability Study

Prof. Colombo, Head of the 1st Division of Gastroenterology and
A.M. Migliavacca Center for Liver Disease at the University of Milan,
and colleagues will present the results of a study which found
significantly higher cure rates in patients treated with
Pegasys/ribavirin compared to those treated with peginterferon
alfa-2b (PegIntron(TM)))/ribavirin (66% vs. 54%, p=0.02). The
difference was even more pronounced in patients with the most
difficult-to-treat forms of the virus, those infected with genotypes
1 or 4 (48% vs. 32%, p=0.02). The two regimens showed a similar
safety and tolerability profile, with similar rates of serious
adverse events (2% in both arms) and drop outs for side effects (7%
vs. 6%).(1)

"Our study combines the rigor of a randomised, controlled trial
with the general applicability of a 'real-world' study, since it
included all patients at our clinic who initiated hepatitis C
treatment and met basic eligibility criteria," said Prof Colombo.
"The results from this study prove that treatment success rates in
the real world can be comparable to those achieved in clinical
trials, and the study also demonstrates that Pegasys regimens enable
significantly more patients to achieve a cure."

The Milan Safety Tolerability (MIST) Study randomly assigned 431
patients to receive Pegasys or peginterferon alfa-2b, both in
combination with ribavirin. In the Pegasys group, the daily ribavirin
dose for genotype 1 and 4 patients was 1,000-1,200 mg based on
weight, while patients with genotype 2 or 3 received a fixed dose of
ribavirin (800 mg). In the peginterferon alfa-2b group, ribavirin
doses ranged from 800 mg to 1,400 mg based on a patient's weight in
all genotypes.

Since the study used different ribavirin dosing in the treatment
arms, it cannot provide a direct, head-to-head comparison between
Pegasys and peginterferon alfa-2b, but instead offers comparisons
between the specific combination regimens.

Notes for Editors

About Chronic Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C (HCV), the most common chronic blood-borne infection,
is transmitted primarily through blood or blood products. HCV
chronically affects 180 million people worldwide, which makes it over
four times more prevalent than HIV. It is a leading cause of
cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure, despite the fact that many
patients can be cured.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world s
leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world s biggest biotech
company and an innovator of products and services for the early
detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group
contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people s health
and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro
diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, and is a market
leader in virology. It is also active in other major therapeutic
areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and metabolic
disorders and diseases of the central nervous system. In 2007 sales
by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 36.8 billion Swiss francs,
and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 9.3 billion francs.
Roche has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous
partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and
Chugai, and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D in 2007.
Worldwide, the Group employs about 80,000 people. Additional
information is available on the Internet at http://www.roche.com.

References:

1) Rumi M, Aghemo A, Prati G, et al. Randomized study comparing
peginterferon-alfa-2a plus ribavirin and peginterferon-alfa2b plu s
ribavirin in naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C: final results
of the Milan Safety Tolerability Study. Abstract presented at the
American Association for the Study of Liver Disease; 31 October 2008;
San Francisco, California, USA.

ots Originaltext: Roche Pharmaceuticals
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Contact: Mike Nelson, Roche, +41-79-572-5165