TAG Pipeline Report Outlines Future of Hepatitis C Treatment

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TAG Pipeline Report Outlines Future of Hepatitis C Treatment

SUMMARY: New report from Treatment Action Group (TAG) details experimental

hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapies in development, including protease inhibitors

boceprevir and telaprevir.

By Swan

The future of HCV treatment is almost here: in 2011, regulators in the U.S.,

Canada, and Europe are expected to review 2 hepatitis C protease inhibitors,

Merck's boceprevir and Vertex's telaprevir. Both of these oral drugs can shorten

treatment duration for some patients, and they will boost cure rates for

treatment-naive and treatment experienced-patients with hard-to-treat HCV

genotype 1.

But they are far from a magic bullet. Both drugs must be used in combination

with the current standard of care -- pegylated interferon plus ribavirin -- and

drug resistance may limit their effectiveness. Treatment algorithms are

complicated, and involve consideration of patient and drug-specific

characteristics.

Following advances in hepatitis C treatment can be difficult, given the

overwhelming amount of information, complicated trial designs, and constantly

changing terminology. More than 30 direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) are

currently in clinical trials, along with immunomodulators -- drugs that target

host rather than viral factors -- therapeutic vaccines, and new types and

formulations of interferon. Novel treatment strategies, such as response-guided

therapy, interferon-sparing regimens, and quadruple therapy are being explored.

Earlier this month, TAG published its latest Hepatitis C Treatment Pipeline

Report. The Pipeline Report combines a comprehensive overview of new HCV

treatments under development with detailed information about boceprevir and

telaprevir.

The Pipeline Report also covers diagnostics, global and national perspectives on

barriers to access, and treatment issues for African Americans and

Latinos/Latinas, HIV/HCV coinfected people, prior non-responders and null

responders, people with liver cirrhosis, current and former injection drug

users, and liver transplant candidates and recipients, as well as

recommendations for research and clinical care.

The new TAG report is available online at:

www.treatmentactiongroup.org/publication.aspx?id=4416).

Swan, author of the Pipeline Report, is Hepatitis/HIV Project Director at

TAG.

3/25/11

Source

T Swan. Hepatitis C Treatment Pipeline Report. Treatment Action Group. March

2011.