Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tibotec to conduct hepatitis C research

Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced a new collaboration agreement with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, focusing on the development of a new combination hepatitis C therapy.

The companies will be aiming to investigate the potential benefits of a combination of Bristol-Myers Squibb's NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir and the Tibotec NS3 protease inhibitor TMC435.

In order to assess the new therapy, a phase II clinical study is to be commenced in the first half of 2012, trialling several different dosage options and evaluating their performance in viral response terms.

Brian Daniels, senior vice-president for development at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said this comes as part of the company's strategy of forming partnerships in the antiviral therapy field.

"We are pleased to work with Tibotec to advance the scientific understanding for the potential for an all-oral regimen of direct-acting antivirals, which would be an important advancement for patients with hepatitis C," he added.

This comes after Bristol-Myers Squibb's diabetes drug Onglyza, created in collaboration with AstraZeneca, received EU approval in a new specification last month.