UPDATE 1-EU clears shorter course of Roche hepatitis C drug

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ZURICH, June 26 (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it had received European Union approval for a shortened treatment course for Pegasys in combination with Copegus for certain hepatitis C patients.

The 16-week course will be available for patients with genotype 2 or 3 strains of chronic hepatitis C who have low virus levels before starting treatment and show rapid virological response, the Basel-based drug maker said.

The altered course of treatments is part of Roche's new response-guided therapy, which seeks to customise regimens based on how well patients respond to therapy.

Roche also announced the start of NCORE study to determine the best treatment time for patients who do not experience a rapid response.

(Reporting by Andrew Thompson; Editing by Erica Billingham)