Bloomberg (01/10/12) Langreth, Robert
Merck has set a goal to become the leading manufacturer of drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C, and expressed hope that its new drug, MK-5172, which is currently in the second stage of testing, will lay the foundation for pill combination treatments in the future. Merck's Victrelis and Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Incivek, both protease inhibitors, were approved in spring 2011, and provide a higher rate of cures when used in combination with the injectable treatments than that which had been seen in previous treatments. The market for hepatitis drugs is expected to grow to $20 billion by 2050, and has sparked a race between pharmaceutical companies to see who can developed a pill-only regimen. Two recent acquisitions in Nov. 2011 and Jan 2012 blended Inhibitex into Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pharmasset into Gilead Sciences. Idenix Pharmaceuticals and Achillion recently announced that their experimental drugs had successful early clinical trials, and are concentrating on developing drug candidates, not on being acquired. Merck is currently working to develop a pill combination regimen, and is considering its current developmental drugs, partnership agreements and acquisitions as ways to reach that goal.

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