'Pegasys' hot on the heels of standard hepatitis C therapy

Monotherapy with PEG interferon (IFN)-α-2a ['Pegasys'] has been shown in studies to be superior to standard IFN in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C,* which is a leading cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis and a major reason for liver transplantation. Now researchers have taken the next logical step by examining the efficacy of PEG IFN-α-2a in combination with ribavirin to treat this disease. New study data presented at Digestive Disease Week [Atlanta, US; May 2001] suggest that PEG IFN-α-2a plus ribavirin is superior to IFN-α-2b plus ribavirin ['Rebetron'], the current standard of care for most patients with chronic hepatitis C.