New therapies for HCV create better alternatives for patients

Therapeutic advances in treating hepatitis C virus have greatly increased a patient’s chance for a cure and at a faster rate, according to a consumer update from the FDA.

The new report, available on the FDA website, states that interferon injections were once the only option for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and can be very painful. Jeffrey S. Murray, MD, deputy director of the division of antiviral products in the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said new regimens present a safer way to cure the disease.

“Interferon-based injections often make patients feel ill and give them flulike symptoms,” Murray said in the update, which cited that interferon therapy requires 6 months to 1 year and cures only 40% to 50% of patients with HCV. “Patients with very advanced liver disease couldn’t take the additional treatment because often those injections could make them worse. Now, patients can treat their hepatitis C with only pills — drug combinations that are faster and have a higher cure rate.”

The new therapies include sofosbuvir (Sovaldi, Gilead Sciences), the first drug approved to treat various types of HCV without co-administering interferon, and three protease inhibitors — simeprevir (Olysio, Janssen), boceprevir (Victrelis, Merck) and telaprevir (Incivek, Vertex Pharmaceuticals), the report said. Studies have shown that these therapies have produced HCV cure rates between 90% and 100% at 12 weeks.

Of untreated patients with HCV, the CDC said, nearly eight in 10 will remain infected for life, and three in four patients with chronic HCV are baby boomers, according to the report.

“When it comes to hepatitis C, the outlook for the future is better, but the past is catching up with us, especially if you are a baby boomer,” Murray said. “Still, this is a fortuitous time because better hepatitis C treatments are becoming available just as the patient population at risk of long-term complications is about to peak. There are treatments for chronic hepatitis and many reasons to get tested now more than ever because of the availability of safe and effective therapies.”