Inventors:
Janice K. Albrecht - Winter Park FL, US
Clifford A. Brass - New York NY, US
Jacques Fellay - St. Maurice, CN
Dongliang Ge - Cary NC, US
David B. Goldstein - Durham NC, US
Curtis Gumbs - Durham NC, US
John G. McHutchinson - Chapel Hill NC, US
Ping Qiu - Edison NJ, US
Kevin Shianna - Durham NC, US
Alexander J. Thompson - Victoria, AU
Thomas J. Urban - Durham NC, US
International Classification:
C12Q 1/68, A61K 38/07, A61K 38/21, A61K 38/06, A61K 31/7056, A61P 31/14
US Classification:
424 857, 514 43, 435 611, 514 43
Abstract:
The present invention provides genetic markers and biomarkers that are associated with anemia induced by ribavirin therapy. The genetic markers are located in the ITPA gene and elsewhere on human chromosome 20 and the biomarkers are low ITPA activity phenotypes. These markers of ribavirin-induced anemia are useful, inter alia, to identify patients who are least likely to develop anemia upon treatment with ribavirin pharmaceutical compositions and drug products, in methods of treating patients having a disease susceptible to treatment with ribavirin, and in methods for selecting the most appropriate therapy for such patients.