Two New Drugs Approved for Hepatitis C

Horizons in Hemophilia, June 2011 

By Melissa Osborn, MD, Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University Hospital Midtown

As many as 80% of people with bleeding disorders who were  treated before 1992 became infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) through contaminated blood products.  Over many years, HCV can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.  Until recently, the best available treatment (pegylated interferon with ribavirin) had only a 45-50% chance of getting rid of HCV in people with genotype 1, the most common type of HCV. 

In May 2011, the FDA approved two new medications for HCV, boceprevir (Victrelis) and telaprevir (Incivek).  Both are in a new class of oral medications called protease inhibitors.  The new drugs have a 65-80% chance of clearing HCV in patients who have never been treated before, and a 30-70% chance of clearing HCV in people who have failed treatment with interferon in the past.  Both drugs will still be used in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin as a triple “cocktail”, but some patients will be able to take a shorter treatment course.  The drugs are not approved yet for patients with HIV, but studies in HIV patients are being done now. 

For more information on the drugs or to discuss treatment, contact Dr. Melissa Osborn or Francie Lasseter, RN, at Emory Infectious Diseases Clinic, 404-686-2349.