Drugs in development for hepatitis C

Currently available anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy is effective in only half of infected patients and is limited by adverse effects that often necessitate discontinuation. Therefore, new treatments are being developed, including optimization of current standard treatment with peginterferon plus ribavirin, specifically targeted antiviral therapy for HCV, novel immunomodulatory agents and treatments aimed at reducing fibrosis. This review focuses on novel anti-HCV drugs that are currently in an advanced stage of clinical development. Albinterferon-alpha-2b, a fusion molecule of albumin and interferon-alpha-2b, has a longer half-life than peginterferon, which enables a bi-weekly administration interval. Preliminary data indicate similar response rates for albinterferon-alpha-2b plus ribavirin compared with peginterferon-alpha-2b plus ribavirin, but possible benefits with respect to quality of life. Telaprevir, a NS3/4 protease inhibitor, demonstrated a rapid and profound antiviral effect in phase I trials that was synergistic with that of peginterferon-alpha-2a. Recently completed phase 11 trials on triple combination treatment with telaprevir, peginterferon-alpha-2a and ribavirin given for 12-24 weeks reported sustained virological response in up to 68% of patients with treatment-naive HCV genotype I infection.