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In the continuing search for more-effective agents to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, two new industry-sponsored, phase IIb, randomized trials assess the safety and efficacy of mericitabine — a selective nucleoside analog inhibitor of HCV that is active across all genotypes — as part of a triple therapy regimen in treatment-naive patients with HCV genotypes 1 or 4. The primary outcome in both studies was sustained virologic response (SVR) at 24 weeks post-treatment.
In the trial by Pockros and colleagues, 168 patients were randomized to receive triple therapy with oral mericitabine (1000 mg twice daily) or matching placebo, plus peginterferon alfa-2a (180 µg weekly) and ribavirin (1000 or 1200 mg daily). Patients receiving mericitab…