Newly Approved Hepatitis C Drug Has High Response Rates

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Nearly all patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treated with glecaprevir-pibrentasvir achieved sustained virologic response after 12 weeks of therapy, according to results of an industry-funded, phase 3 trial in the Lancet Infectious Diseases. The once-daily combination drug (brand name, Mavyret) was approved by the FDA earlier this month to treat all HCV genotypes.

The trial enrolled 146 adults with HCV genotype 1a, 1b, 2, 4, 5, or 6 and compensated cirrhosis who either had not been previously treated, or had not responded to interferon-based treatment or to treatment with sofosbuvir plus ribavirin (with or without pegylated interferon). At 12 weeks after treatment ended, all but one patient had sustained virologic response. A patient with HCV genotype 1a and a history of treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin relapsed at week 8.

Nearly 70% of patients had adverse events, most of which were mild (e.g., fatigue). No serious events were related to the study drug.