Which meds are best for treatment????

[peaches45]

Victrelis (boceprevir)  OR  Incivek (telaprevir),  Which one is best and how does the doctor decide which one is for you?

Thanks, Becki

[peaches45]

Hi Kirk, so how long have you been on treatment? What, if any side effects are you having with the Boceprevir?

Thank you, becki

[kirk8]

I was talking about that with my doc. Just prior to FDA approval.  At that time she thought telaprevir was slightly more successful.  A few months later I was surprised to when she started writing me a prescription for boceprevir.  I asked her why and she said it was because of possible side effects.  I think it might also have something to do with the price tag.  Telaprevir costs about 4x as much as boceprevir.

[can-do-man]

Boceprevir or Telaprevir?

At this year’s Digestive Disease Week (DDW) meeting, prior to the FDA approval of boceprevir and telaprevir, many gastroenterologists and hepatologists were already discussing which patients should receive which drug. At this point, neither drug has been proven superior—it comes down to patient preference and risk factors, said experts.

“There’s been no head-to-head trials of these drugs, so one has not been proven significantly better than the other,” said Marcelo Kugelmas, MD, a gastroenterologist at South Denver Gastroenterology in Colorado.

The treatment regimens studied with boceprevir and telaprevir are different and the studies were not done head to head, added Dr. Kugelmas. The data for both drugs, published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine, cannot be compared (2011;364:2417-2428; 2011;364:2405-2416; 2011;364:1207-1217; and 2011;364:1195-1206).

[hrsepwrguy]

http://pi.vrtx.com/files/uspi_telaprevir.pdf

[hrsepwrguy]

http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/v/victrelis/victrelis_pi.pdf

[peaches45]

how long do you take Victrelis?

[banarep]

both are almost equal.  I treated with telaprevir, so I am biased towards it.  You take it for less time, but it is more expensive.  Each have their own side effects.  So 6 of one half dozen of the other.