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Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)
infection could cause cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer. Healthcare
providers currently treat HCV infection with interferon, ribavirin, and one of
two newer drugs telaprevir and boceprevir. This drug combination cures 68–75
percent of HCV genotype 1, the most common strain of the virus. However,
interferon causes many adverse reactions, leading researchers to search for a
new drug that could eliminate interferon’s use. Researchers led by Dr. Stefan
Zeuzem of Goethe University Medical Center in Frankfurt, Germany, conducted
clinical trials on two experimental drugs—faldaprevir and deleobuvir—against
HCV genotype 1 (HCV 1).
The researchers randomly distributed
362 chronic HCV patients to one of five groups. Four groups received the two
new drugs as well as ribavirin while the fifth group received only the two new
drugs. Three months after treatment ended, researchers discovered that 52–69
percent of patients who received all three drugs were cured depending on the
dose and length of treatment. Only 39 percent of patients who did not receive
ribavirin were cured. Virus subtype also affected treatment results;
approximately 85 percent of patients with HCV 1b were cured three months after
treatment compared to 47 percent of patients with HCV 1a.
The researchers have not determined
the ideal treatment duration; study participants received drugs for 16 to 40
weeks. Zeuzem believed that 16 weeks of treatment might be enough for patients
with HCV 1b. Current treatment lasts 48 weeks. Study participants experienced
side effects, including rash, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but most
considered them mild. Zeuzem acknowledged that questions remained and the drugs
required additional trials.
The pharmaceutical company
Boehringer Ingelheim funded the study.
The full report, “Faldaprevir and
Deleobuvir for HCV Genotype 1 Infection,” was published in the New England
Journal of Medicine (2013; 369: (630-639), doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1213557).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus.
To learn more about The Friends of
AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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