New drug shows promise for hepatitis C

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Health) - The investigational drug boceprevir (Schering-Plough) appears to be a useful treatment for chronic infection with hepatitis C virus, new research suggests. In patients who have never been treated before, the drug provides response rates that are nearly double that seen with currently used treatments.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease that is often without symptoms and can cause inflammation of the liver, cirrhosis, and in extreme cases, liver cancer. It is usually contracted through transfusions of unscreened blood, or by injecting or inhaling drugs.

"The high response rates seen with boceprevir in this study are very exciting, especially given that (the type of virus studied), genotype 1, is the most common and hardest to treat form of hepatitis C," said lead researcher Dr. Paul Kwo of Indiana University in Indianapolis.

He announced results of the HCV SPRINT-1 study at the annual meeting of the American Association of the Study for Liver Diseases, which is being held here this week.

The study included 595 patients with hepatitis C infection who were randomly assigned to one of five treatment regimens featuring standard drugs (interferon and ribavirin) alone or combined with boceprevir.

A treatment response rate of 74 percent was seen in patients who were treated with standard therapy for 4 weeks with boceprevir added for an additional 44 weeks. By contrast, patients who received only standard therapy had a response rate of just 38 percent.

The rapid therapeutic response makes patients want to continue with treatment, Kwo told Reuters Health, "and we can begin using the word 'cure' in these patients."

"Achieving a rapid response is important. Patients are motivated to continue with therapy, to adhere to treatment, if they know they can be cured within 48 weeks."

"We might even be able to change the outcome (of hepatitis C infection) with successful treatment. We've seen a dramatic reversal of fibrosis and in some cases a reversal of cirrhosis."

Kwo said the side effects with triple therapy "are not different" from ribavirin and interferon alone. He noted that interferon is the drug that causes the most significant side effects, "but if patients see that treatment is working and there is an end in sight, they are more likely to adhere to treatment."