A Promising All-Oral HCV Regimen for Difficult-to-Treat Groups

All-oral, interferon-free regimens are now a reality for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In two industry-funded, randomized, phase II studies, researchers examined the efficacy of grazoprevir (an NS3/4A second-generation protease inhibitor) and elbasvir (an NS5A inhibitor) in several patient populations.

Lawitz and colleagues tested grazoprevir (100 mg once daily) and elbasvir (50 mg once daily) with or without ribavirin (800–1400 mg daily) in patients with HCV genotype 1 infection (123 treatment-naive with cirrhosis and 130 treatment-experienced with or without cirrhosis) for 12 or 18 weeks. Sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12; the primary endpoint) was high regardless of ribavirin use…