Abbott Laboratories (ABT), AbbVie Inc (ABBV): This FDA Approval Is Exciting News for Hepatitis-C Patients

AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)’s hepatitis-C drug combination could be as equally exciting, with the combo producing a 97% SVR in mid-stage trials, and with it receiving the relatively new breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA in May. If AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)’s success continues over to phase 3 trials, then, with the breakthrough therapy designation already attached, it should sail right through to an expected approval.

However, not all drugmakers have been so lucky. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY), for example, shelled out $2.5 billion to purchase Inhibitex early last year, only to have its lead hepatitis-C candidate, later renamed BMS-986094, cause the death of a patient in trials and get completely scrapped, resulting in a $1.8 billion writedown.

This is a reason to celebrate
Overall, though, those with hepatitis-C and those who carry the highly mutable virus and who aren’t aware of it could be on the precipice of a big shift in the quality and type of care they receive. With Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s test now approved, we have the personalization required to treat hepatitis-C patients; it should be only a matter of months before we have two potential blockbusters from Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) dueling it out to improve patient quality of life.

The article This FDA Approval Is Exciting News for Hepatitis-C Patients originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

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