After closely observing the hepatitis C drug Telaprevir in a study, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., has confirmed that it works well when administered twice daily as well, instead of the earlier believed dosage of thrice daily. The study confirmed that the drug worked in over 80% of the patients when given two times a day as well.

All earlier tests carried out for Telaprevir had reported that the drug had to be given thrice a day, at regular 8 hour intervals, for it to effectively keep hepatitis C under control. The new study, however, has confirmed that even when given twice, at 12 hour intervals, it would work equally well.

81-85% of the patients involved in the study were earlier on a three times a day routine, shifting them to the twice daily routine, in combination with the standard hepatitis C treatments pegylated-interferon and ribavirin sustained the response they gave to the dosage when administered thrice. The data was presented at the meeting of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston.

The study has, according to researchers involved, given much better results than initially expected. "I was expecting around 70 percent", Dr Patrick Marcellin, the study's lead investigator, said. The results of the study are being viewed as a big step in the history of hepatitis C treatment.