My son has survived a year of Interferon and Ribavarin treatment for
Hepatitis C, with
no success. He swears a doctor told him there was a new treatment
coming shortly using a new medicine named Pegasus. I have been unable
to find any reference to it on the web. "Pegasus" is a medical search
engine. If such a medicine exists I would like to know all about it.

I was initially unsuccessful in searching for online information using
the keywords "pegasus" and "hepatitis c." Then I came upon a newsgroup
post that mentioned "pegylated interferon." A Google search using this
term brought up many references to "Pegasys," which I believe is the
treatment mentioned by your son's doctor.

"Pegasys" is Roche Pharmaceutical's trade name for peginterferon
alfa-2a, a form of pegylated interferon. This is a time-released
recombinant interferon that is injected once weekly. Schering's
similar product is known as "PEG-Intron."

Here is an excerpt from a recent article about this promising new drug
therapy:

"Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche) announced on 7/15/02 that the US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has granted "fast-track" (priority) review
status to its drug Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) in combination with
Copegus (ribavirin), for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The FDA
grants priority designation to biologics and drugs for unmet medical
needs, and which offer a significant improvement in the safety or
effectiveness of the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a serious
or life-threatening disease. Roche said it hopes the FDA will approve
the combination treatment in the fourth quarter of 2002, and plans to
launch the treatment in the US beginning in early 2003. "

HIV and Hepatitis: Roche Wins FDA Fast-Track Review for Pegasys 
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/071702a.html

Further information and links to several articles about Pegasys may be
found here:

HIV and Hepatitis: Pegasys (Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2a) 
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/treat/pegasys.html

I have sifted through many Web pages that discuss Pegasys. Here are
links to some of the more informative articles:

Hepatitis C Free: Considering Pegylated Interferon
http://www.hepatitiscfree.com/peg_interferon.html

HCV Advocate: New Pegasys Results Offer Renewed Hope for Patients with
Hepatitis C
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/Oldsite/200205/Peg-Hope.htm

Liver Disease: Pegylated Interferon
http://liverdisease.com/Pegylatedinterferon.html

National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project: FDA GRANTS PRIORITY REVIEW
TO PEGASYS
http://www.natap.org/2002/barcelona/day19.htm

Ask Emily HCV Info & Support: Market For Hepatitis C Treatments Poised
For Dramatic Growth
http://www.askemilyss.com/bites/bite0502/growth.htm

Biz.Yahoo.com: FDA Grants Priority Review to PEGASYS (peginterferon
alfa-2a) And Ribavirin Combination for Treatment of Hepatitis C
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020715/nym096_1.html

The Danish Hepatitis C Website: Pegylated Interferon
http://home3.inet.tele.dk/omni/pegasys.htm

Google search strategy:

"new" + "treatment" + "hepatitis c"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=new+treatment+%22hepatitis+c

"pegylated interferon"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=pegylated+interferon

"roche" + "pegasys"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=roche+pegasys

I hope this helps. Keep in mind that Google Answers is not a source of
authoritative medical advice; the data I have provided here is for
informational purposes only, and is not a subsitute for the services
of a physician.

If any part of my answer needs explanation, or if any of the links are
non-functional, please do not hesitate to ask for clarification.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 30 Aug 2002 09:15 PDT

Thank you very much for the five-star rating. I am glad to have been
able to provide useful information.

My hopes and prayers are with your son.

~pinkfreud

The answer provided what may be "vital" information that I had failed to find.