The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7427 p600
18 November 2006

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Platelet growth factor helps hepatitis C patients start therapy

A drug that improves platelet counts may allow patients with hepatitis C and thrombocytopenia to benefit from antiviral therapy.

GlaxoSmithKline announced results from a phase II study of eltrombopag, a non-peptide oral platelet growth factor, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston, Massachusetts, last month. Eltrombopag, at a daily dose of 30mg, 50mg or 75mg, increased platelet counts at day 28 and enabled between 71 per cent and 91 per cent of patients to initiate treatment with pegylated interferon. Fewer patients (between 36 per cent and 65 per cent) completed the 12-week course of antiviral therapy.

Of the 23 patients who were treated with the highest dose of eltrombopag, six experienced a drug-related adverse event (26 per cent) and one withdrew from the study.