Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD), Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK), and Oral Hepatitis C Cure on Its Way

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Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), for instance, is testing sofosbuvir and GS-5885 with and without ribavirin for eight weeks. Even if it doesn’t beat AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)’s all-oral cocktail, which produced a 99% cure rate in one of its phase 2 trials, a shorter time frame might help attract patients.

The other main driver for sales will be how many patients infected with hepatitis C are actually treated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 3.2 million people in the U.S. infected with hepatitis C, but many don’t know it because they’ve never been tested and they won’t exhibit symptoms for many years. If drugmakers can convince doctors to routinely test for the infection, the potential market increases substantially.

The article Oral Hepatitis C Cure on Its Way originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Orelli has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson.

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