Pegasus vs peg intron with Vic 3x TX

[candyce1953]

If taking Vic 3xtx
do u get to pick Pegasus or peg intron
Or do u have no choice?

Cause another thread about int fevers said that a study done in Italy showed better results with Pegasus
Thank u!

[candyce1953]

Thank you can do man I will M

[can-do-man]

".I vote Pegasys.  My husband has had both at different times, and he handles Pegasys much better.  
Ev ".

I would say there you go, been there, done that, trumps any studies in my book.

Wishing you the best,
cando

[evangelin]

I vote Pegasys.  My husband has had both at different times, and he handles Pegasys much better.  
Ev

[candyce1953]

TY Will
I will ask md
But better to know this info going in
I would like all odds raised as much as possible and it looks like peg has it for me

Domu know any differences in rib or is there only 1 brand type?

Am not doing Inc I think the Vic easier on my stomach
Not gonna wait anymore
Driving myself crazy trying to decide
going to bite the bullet and start in January
All trials I tried to get into are closed or not calling me back
and were no sure thing anyway! Unless comes my way that looks great in 3 or 4 weeks will do the 3x TX

Thank you again for the study info!

[willbb]

Here is  something you may want to look at,if you haven"t already in regards to the two Interferon's from  two studies done in Italy. Keep in mind these were done before the intro of Inci and Vic and are results with  just Riba added.
As the article states there are some conflicting arguments as to what may be the better of the two,if either,however there are some differences pointed out here.
From the 1st study it seems for Geno type 1 & 4 that Pegasys had a slightly better result  48% vs 32% than for pegintron  and the side effects were basically the same.

In the 2nd study for G1 &4  again pegasys had a  55% success and pegintron 40%

In this second study patients without cirrhosis did quite a bit better with Pegasys (76%) than  than with Pegintron(56%),,however those with cirrhosis did the same .

Those with higher viral loads,also seemed to do better with Pegasys (76% than Pegintron(56%)  ..and those with low VL about the same.

Again ..this is before  the addition of Inci or Vic,and as Dr Zeuzem states in his editorial   more studies must be done with these added as to which may be better.

Zeuzem :    "Taken together, since the publication of the pivotal phase 3 trials for peginterferon alfa-2a and alfa-2b in combination with ribavirin, it took another 8 years to characterize the pharmacodynamic differences between the 2 drugs in detail," Zeuzem wrote. "At the dawn of new direct antiviral drugs against HCV we need now to investigate how important the observed differences between the peginterferons (and other long-acting interferons such as albumin interferon) are in combination with HCV NS3/4A protease and NS5B polymerase inhibitors."

Pegashttp://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2010/021210_a.htmlys

Always best to go with a knowledgeable doctors advice...
Will

[candyce1953]

TY flcylist
Yes I want the easiest to tol and most effective of them :-)

[flcyclist]

Oops, my bad.  I misread your post thinking this was round 3 for you.  

As Dave pointed out there seems to be little difference in results, however the Pegasys appears to be tolerated better by many members on the forum.  I'd lean toward Pegasys for this reason, but it would be good to hear from others that have done both for their opinions.  I'd certainly be listening closely to my doctor on this one.  Good luck choosing and starting trt soon.

[candyce1953]

Thank u all
I didn't do earlier TX I am naive

I just want to do whichever intereon is the most successful since I am ib/ TT
With reduced odds to begin with

So if one is better I will request it over the other

Anyone else with thoughts please feel free to chime in and again thank you

[spectda]

You can use vic with either peg interferon. Roche is pushing the pegasys/victrelis combo and merck is pushing the pegintron/victrelis combo.

http://pharmacyblogbuy.com/can-merckroche-hep-c-deal-put-victrelis-combo-on-top/

"Can Merck/Roche hep C deal put Victrelis combo on top?
What’s better than Big Pharma marketing power? Big Pharma marketing power times two. Merck has tapped Roche to help sell its new hepatitis C drug Victrelis, aiming to combat the perceived edge of soon-to-be-approved competitor Incivek from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson.
What’s interesting about this co-promotion deal is that Merck and Roche make rival hepatitis C drugs, Peg-Intron and Pegasys. They’re interferon injections are part of the standard two-drug therapy for the disease. Victrelis is an add-on, creating a three-drug cocktail that’s proven to be more effective at curing hep C than the standard two-drug combo and work more quickly than the standard therapy, which has its share of unpleasant side effects.
Merck will market Victrelis as an addition to the Peg-Intron cocktail, while Roche will promote its combination with Pegasys. And Pegasys has muscle; it currently owns about three-quarters of the interferon market in hepatitis C, Bloomberg says. Plus, Merck’s trials for Victrelis tested the drug in combination with Peg-Intron, so having Roche put its stamp on Victrelis as a Pegasys add-on could help offset the lack of data there. That’s what Sanford Bernstein’s Tim Anderson figures: “Now, with Roche on board, this potential shortcoming gets more than removed, in our opinion.”
Together, the two companies will be working to shoulder Incivek aside. “In essence, the Merck-Roche agreement effectively tries to shut telaprevir (Incivek) out of the market to some degree,” Anderson said (as quoted by Medical Marketing & Media). The marketing deal covers the U.S. right now, but the companies said it could be expanded to other markets as well."

[spectda]

Very similar results. 2% is well within the margin of error. Pegasys however seems to be tolerated better by the majority of people.

http://www.drugs.com/clinical_trials/victrelis-boceprevir-merck-s-investigational-medicine-added-peginterferon-alfa-2a-ribavirin-11404.html

"Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, reported that final results from a Phase III study of VICTRELIS™ (boceprevir), its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, added to peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys®) and ribavirin therapy demonstrated significantly higher sustained virologic response (SVR)1 rates in adult patients who failed previous treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 compared to a control group receiving peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin alone, the primary endpoint of the 48-week study. Significantly more patients in the treatment group receiving VICTRELIS achieved SVR, 64 percent (86/134) vs. 21 percent (14/67) for control, p<0.0001; and fewer patients receiving VICTRELIS relapsed after the end of treatment, 12 percent (11/95) vs. 33 percent (7/21) for control. These results were presented for the first time today as part of a late-breaker poster session [Poster #1366] at The International Liver Congress™ / 46th European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) annual meeting.

"In this study, the addition of VICTRELIS to peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin resulted in approximately a three-fold increase in sustained virologic response in patients who were previous nonresponders or relapsers to standard hepatitis C therapy," said Steven L. Flamm, M.D., professor in medicine-hepatology and surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago. "These results are similar to those seen with the 48-week treatment regimen of VICTRELIS added to peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin in HCV RESPOND-2, a pivotal Phase III study. Taken together, these studies showed that VICTRELIS combined with either peginterferon alfa-2a or alfa-2b and ribavirin achieved significantly higher SVR rates in chronic HCV genotype 1 patients who failed prior therapy compared to peginterferon and ribavirin alone."

As published in today's edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, in the HCV RESPOND-2 study in patients who failed prior therapy, the addition of VICTRELIS to peginterferon alfa-2b (PEGINTRON®) and ribavirin in a 48-week regimen achieved an SVR rate of 66 percent (107/161) compared to 21 percent for control (17/80), p<0.0001. The relapse rate was 12 percent (14/121) for the group receiving VICTRELIS compared to 32 percent (8/25) for control.

VICTRELIS added to peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin

The study of VICTRELIS added to peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin (PEG2a/R) presented at EASL was a Phase III, placebo-controlled trial in which 201 adult patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection who were either relapsers or nonresponders to prior peginterferon and ribavirin therapy were randomized to one of two 48-week treatment groups in a 1:2 ratio. The control group received a 4-week lead-in of PEG2a/R followed by placebo + PEG2a/R for 44 weeks. The group treated with VICTRELIS received a 4-week lead-in of PEG2a/R followed by the addition of VICTRELIS for 44 weeks. Peginterferon alfa-2a was administered subcutaneously at a dose of 180 mcg once weekly in combination with ribavirin 1,000-1,200 mg/day orally based on patient weight in a divided daily dose. VICTRELIS was administered orally at a dose of 800 mg three times daily. Patients in the study with detectable virus (HCV-RNA) at treatment week 12 were considered treatment failures and discontinued all therapy."

[flcyclist]

What interferon did you use for your first two trts?  This might have some bearing on the choice for the next trt.  Hopefully some that have undergone more than one trt can help to explain what they chose and why.