Pegasys (Roche) European indication expanded by EMA in Hepatitis C to include to children

Roche has announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has expanded the approval of Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) plus ribavirin for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The new label includes children and adolescents five years of age and older, who have not received treatment and who have tested positive for the virus. Pegasys in combination with the antiviral ribavirin is the foundation of treatment for chronic HCV in adults. The medicine was first approved in the European Union over ten years ago.

Mother-to-child transmission of HCV is the most common route of acquiring the infection in children,with approximately 65,000 children estimated to live with chronic HCV in Europe.