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Women on HRT, birth control safely, effectively treated HCV with Zepatier

PARIS — Though some direct-acting antivirals conflict with the administration of hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives, a recent study showed safety and efficacy with Zepatier, according to a our exclusive interview with Christophe Hezode, MD, at the International Liver Congress 2018.

“It’s very important to check drug-drug interaction before starting treatment and we know that it’s very important to know that with ... Zepatier there is absolutely no drug-drug interactions between [oral contraceptive products (OCP)] and [hormone replacement therapy (HRT)],” Hezode of Hopital Henri Mondor, Paris, France, told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.

Hezode and colleagues pooled data from 12 clinical trials on Zepatier (elbasvir/grazoprevir, Merck) and found 1,022 female patients, 82 (7.9%) of whom concurrently took HRT or OCP.

They found that sustained virologic response was similar in women who took HRT or OCP (SVR12 of 95.1%) and those who did not (SVR12 of 96.3%). Serious adverse events did not occur in any women on HRT or OCP and just three women (0.3%) not taking these medications. Due to increased alanine minotransferase or aspartate aminotransferase levels, one woman (1.2%) on HRT/OCP and seven women (0.7%) not on HRT/OCP discontinued treatment.

“You can easily treat ... women with OCP or HRT with elbasvir and grazoprevir. It's very safe, there is no drug-drug interaction, there is no ALT elevation,” Hezode said.

For more information:

Hezode C, et al. THU-301. Presented at: International Liver Congress; Apr. 11-15, 2018; Paris, France.

Disclosure: Hezode reports financial relationships with AbbVie, BristolMyers Squibb, Gilead, Janssen, and Merck.