Dual therapy of grazoprevir and elbasvir for the treatment of hepatitis C infection

Abstract

The impact of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) worldwide is expected to increase as the population infected with HCV ages and more undiagnosed individuals are identified and linked to care through nation-wide initiatives. The development of interferon-free regimens involving the use of direct-acting antiviral agents, which disrupt key steps in viral replication, has revolutionized the treatment of chronic HCV infection. However, there remains a great medical need for HCV therapy that is of shorter duration, all-oral, with a high barrier to resistance, and highly effective for all patient populations including those with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and cirrhosis. Grazoprevir, an HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor and elbasvir, an NS5A inhibitor, have broad in vitro activity against most HCV genotypes and retain in vitro activity against many clinically relevant resistance-associated variants. The once daily regimen is well-tolerated and highly efficacious across wide-ranging patient populations including those with ESRD on hemodialysis.

Keywords: Hepatitis C; direct-acting antiviral agents; elbasvir; grazoprevir; resistance-associated variants.