AbbVie Inc. said its oral treatment for hepatitis C showed about 96 percent of patients had no detectable levels of the virus after 12 weeks.
The late-stage trial was designed to evaluate a regimen that fuses two experimental drugs developed by AbbVie with an antiviral drug that has been used a hepatitis C treatment for decades. The 631 patients enrolled in the trial were diagnosed with the genotype 1 variant of the infection, which accounts for some 70 percent of hepatitis C cases.
 The results of the first six Phase III studies confirm results of earlier Phase II trials, according to the Chicago-based company, which has a research and development facility in Worcester.
This treatment has the potential to eliminate the need for the injectable drug interferon, which can have debilitating side effects. AbbVie is one of several companies trying to develop hepatitis C regimens that don’t include it.Â
AbbVie said it’s on track for regulatory submissions for the treatment in spring 2014.
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