After hepatitis C cure, companies target next big liver disease market

By Bill Berkrot NEW YORK (Reuters) – Now that new medicines promise to cure millions of hepatitis C patients in coming years, drugmakers including Gilead Sciences Inc are turning their attention to other liver diseases, with a potential market that could rival the success of statins, which generated more than $30 billion a year in sales at their peak. Several companies are working on treatments for hepatitis B, which can be controlled but not yet cured, and for fatty liver conditions caused by rising obesity, which without treatment could affect half of all Americans by 2030, according to the American Liver Foundation (ALF). Some of the drugs will address advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, which are the scarring that virtually all liver diseases cause without effective treatments. Each of these drugs, once approved, could reach annual sales of as much as $10 billion, industry analysts said.    Most of the treatments are now in early Phase I or Phase II clinical trials, with more informative interim data on several expected over the course of the next year.
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Siemens should keep majority if healthcare unit floated-union

The Siemens logo is seen during the IFA Electronics show in BerlinFRANKFURT (Reuters) – Siemens has agreed to keep its healthcare unit as a “part of its long-term, strategic core portfolio” and must strive for majority ownership even if the unit is listed on the stock market, according to trade union IG Metall. Earlier in November, Siemens said the legal separation of its healthcare unit in countries, including Germany, was a possible precursor to an eventual full or part disposal. …

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