Pharmasset starts late-stage trial of hep C drug (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Pharmasset Inc said it started a late-stage trial of its experimental hepatitis C drug, sending the pharmaceutical company's shares up as much as 12 percent.

The study will seek to ascertain whether the drug, PSI-7977, taken orally along with ribavirin -- which is currently used as part of the standard treatment for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) -- can suppress the virus strain for at least six months.

"After recent discussions with health authorities, we are excited to be initiating the first of a series of pivotal studies," Pharmasset's Chief Development Officer Michael Rogers said.

The trial will be split into three parts, named Fission, Positron, and Neutrino and the company expects to start the last part by mid-2012.

Pharmasset's shares were trading up 10 percent at $77.74 on Tuesday on Nasdaq. Meanwhile, Shares of rival Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, which is currently marketing a hepatitis C drug, called Incivek, were down 4 percent at $37.91. (Reporting by Kavyanjali Kaushik in Bangalore; Editing by Viraj Nair)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111101/hl_nm/us_pharmasset_trial

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