Hepatitis C News

In this issue, HCV Next asks five questions of Anita Howe, PhD, scientific leader for hepatitis C at the British Columbia Center for Excellence for HIV/AIDS.

The seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus is lower in Iran compared with other countries in the Middle East, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir was highly effective and well tolerated for the treatment of hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection in patients who previously failed treatment with direct-acting antivirals, according to the results of the phase 2 open-label MAGELLAN-1 study.

The FDA has accepted AbbVie’s New Drug Application for glecaprevir/pibrentasvir and granted it priority review, the company announced.

Eradication of hepatitis C virus infection among patients coinfected with HIV was associated with reductions in diabetes and chronic renal failure in addition to reduced mortality, HIV progression and liver-related events, according to the results of a Spanish cohort study.

The percentage of patients on the liver transplant waitlist or undergoing liver transplantation for chronic hepatitis C virus infection has significantly dropped since 2003, while the proportions of patients on the waitlist or undergoing transplantation for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or alcoholic liver disease have increased, according to new research.

Researchers raised questions about the long-term safety of direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C virus infection after an analysis of FDA data uncovered more than 500 reports of liver failure and more than 1,000 reports of severe liver injury related to the drugs over one recent 12-month period.

Three unique testing interventions all increased hepatitis C virus screening rates among baby boomers, but also increased costs compared with standard-of-care risk-based testing, according to recent study data.

Patients with hepatitis C virus infection in Egypt achieved rates of sustained virologic response at week 12 with Sovaldi-based regimens that were comparable to those demonstrated in phase 3 clinical trials, according to real-world study data.

The guidelines for cholesterol and hepatitis C virus treatment did not fully meet the Institute of Medicine standards for commercial conflict of interest management; in addition, many patient advocacy organizations receive modest or substantial industry support, according to studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine.