Fair prices for new direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) to make treatment for all affordable

Until 2011, the combination of pegylated interferon (pINF) and ribavirin (RBV) for 24 or 48 weeks was the approved treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Telaprevir and boceprevir, licensed in 2011 for use in patients infected with HCV genotype 1, were the first direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs). With combinations including these agents, higher sustained viral response (SVR) rates were achieved compared with pINF+RBV, but also higher side effects. In 2013, sofosbuvir (SOF) was approved for use in HCV-infected patients with genotypes 2 and 3 in combination with RBV, and in those with genotypes 1 and 4, in combination with pINF and RBV with SVR rates >90%.1 2 With approval of other oral DAAs such as simeprevir and daclatasvir, now highly efficacious interferon-free regimens are also prescribed, particularly in genotypes 1 and 4.3 4 Moreover, last week, the European Commission granted marketing authorisation...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research