Hepatitis C News

The presence of many symposia regarding hepatitis C infection at Infectious Disease Week 2016 showed the continued and growing interest of ID physicians in treating and managing patients with HCV. Though new data were less prominent than you may see in our counterpart’s Take Home (page 21) from The Liver Meeting, there were important clinical management pieces discussed.

The Liver Meeting 2016 featured a wealth of data once again focused onon the new and emerging treatments and trends in hepatitis C. That so much can still be emerging testifies to the universal goal of curing every infected patient, including those who have failed our remarkable first-generation interferon-free direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimen, and to accomplish this with the shortest duration of treatment if it can be done without compromising the opportunity for cure. Even after the quantum leap engendered by the advent of DAA regimens, new issues have emerged such as the chilling possibility that virologic cure might enhance the risk of recurrent liver cancer in patients previously treated for it, with some concerns raised (and addressed) about de novo cancer. The recent observation that hepatitis B can reactivate when HCV is rapidly suppressed after initial exposure to DAA therapy has resulted in a new warning within the labels for our current regimens and garnered much attention at The Liver Meeting. “Real world” studies continue to provide important information generally verifying the high level of efficacy demonstrated in trials. And, pressing needs such as linkage to care and expansion of the pool of providers were also a focus of interest.

Researchers estimated that a generic direct-acting antiviral regimen for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection could cost less than $100 per person in the United States, according to data presented at The Liver Meeting.

For the first time, WHO has prequalified a rapid diagnostic test for hepatitis C virus infection, according to a press release.

Gilead Sciences today filed a New Drug Application with the FDA for an investigational fixed-dose hepatitis C virus treatment.

Dozens of veterans have shown up to have their blood tested after being warned they may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus at a Veterans Affairs dental clinic in Wisconsin.

Researchers in the Netherlands found that Sovaldi plus velpatasvir, known as Epclusa in the United States, was the most effective regimen for the treatment of hepatitis C genotype 3 infection compared with other direct-acting antiviral regimens, according to published findings.

Results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken during Nov. 9-14, 2016 indicated that more than 20% of Americans wanted President-elect Donald J. Trump to focus on health care in his first 100 days in office. However, when HCV Next reached out to a cross-section of experts for commentary on exactly what Trump could realistically expect to accomplish in health care, and how he would accomplish it, there were more questions than answers. Of note, some experts declined to comment.

BOSTON — In this exclusive video at The Liver Meeting, Tom Podsadecki, head of antiviral research and development at AbbVie, discusses high sustained virologic response rates among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, after treatment with AbbVie’s new pangenotypic regimen of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir, and plans for future clinical development.

Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, an event held annually to raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Among all people with HIV in the United States, about 25% are coinfected with hepatitis C virus and another 10% are coinfected with hepatitis B virus, according to the CDC. Approximately 75% of people with HIV also have HCV attributable to past injection drug use — HCV/HIV coinfection more than triples the risk for liver disease, liver failure and liver-related mortality.  To mark the occasion of World AIDS Day, Healio.com/Hepatology compiled a list of relevant HCV/HIV coinfection research published online: