The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7207 p92
20 July 2002

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Peginterferon alfa-2a launched

Peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys), for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, has been launched by Roche (see p95). The drug can be used in combination with ribavirin in both untreated patients and in those who have responded to interferon alpha therapy but subsequently relapsed after stopping treatment. The duration of treatment in combination with ribavirin depends on the viral genotype — in patients with viral genotype-1 the duration of treatment is 48 weeks and in patients with genotype non-1 it may be 24 weeks. Monotherapy is indicated in cases of intolerance to ribavirin or where ribavirin is contraindicated. The recommended duration for monotherapy is 48 weeks.