New hepatitis C treatments are showing good results in phase II clinical trials. For those of you not familiar with the phases of clinical trials, let me explain. When a company develops a new drug, before it can be sold to patients, the company must conduct specific tests called clinical trials. These trials show that the drug is safe and effective.

Clinical trials are made up of four phases, I-IV, with each phase designed to provide more information. A phase I trial tests the drug in a small group of people (usually less than 100) in order to find out basic dosing, side effects and safety information. A phase II trial tests the drug in a larger group of people (usually a couple hundred) and focuses on its effectiveness and safety. A phase III trial tests the drug in a much larger group of people (usually over one thousand) and continues to build up scientific data for how the drug is best used. A phase IV trial is a study that collects even more information about the drug, but this trial usually happens after the drug is approved by the FDA.

So, two drugs for hepatitis C, one from Roche and one from Schering-Plough, are showing good results so far. These drugs are being tested as part of a combination with other established drugs, peginterferon and ribavirin. We'll need to see how they perform in the remaining trials.

Want to know more about the latest hepatitis drugs and treatments? Start with my Hepatitis Research page for general information.

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