European Commission Approves Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Daklinza (daclatasvir) Across Multiple Genotypes for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection.

 
About Hepatitis C
Globally, there are 150 million people infected with HCV and of that, an estimated 9 million people are living with hepatitis C in the European Union (EU). Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver and is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood and blood products. Up to 90 percent of those infected with hepatitis C will not spontaneously clear the virus and will become chronically infected. According to the World Health Organization, 20 percent of people with chronic hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis and, of those, about 5 to 7 percent of patients may ultimately die of the consequences of infection.
 
About Bristol-Myers Squibb’s HCV Portfolio
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s research efforts are focused on advancing late-stage compounds to deliver the most value to patients with hepatitis C. At the core of our pipeline is daclatasvir, a potent pan-genotypic NS5A complex inhibitor (in vitro), which continues to be investigated in multiple treatment regimens and in people with co-morbidities.
Daklinza was recently approved in Japan in combination with Sunvepra (asunaprevir), a NS3/4A protease inhibitor. The Daklinza+Sunvepra Dual Regimen is Japan’s first all-oral, interferon- and ribavirin-free treatment regimen for patients with genotype 1 chronic HCV infection, including those with compensated cirrhosis.

Applications for the daclatasvir Dual Regimen are also under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which granted priority review status and set a target review date under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) of November 30, 2014.
In 2014, the FDA granted Bristol-Myers Squibb’s investigational daclatasvir Dual Regimen (daclatasvir + asunaprevir) Breakthrough Therapy Designation for use as a combination therapy in the treatment of genotype 1b HCV infection.

In 2013, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s investigational all-oral 3DAA Regimen (daclatasvir/asunaprevir/BMS-791325) also received Breakthrough Therapy Designation in the U.S., which helped to expedite the start of the ongoing Phase 3 UNITY Program. Study populations include non-cirrhotic naïve, cirrhotic naïve and previously treated patients. The daclatasvir 3DAA Regimen is being studied as a fixed-dose-combination treatment with twice daily dosing.
Additional studies with daclatasvir in combination with sofosbuvir are being conducted in high unmet need patients, such as pre- and post-transplant patients, HIV/HCV co-infected patients and patients with genotype 3 as part of the ongoing Phase 3 ALLY Program.