WEDNESDAY, June 22 (HealthDay News) -- The addition of telaprevir to peginterferon and ribavirin is associated with significantly improved and sustained virologic response in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection who have not received previous treatment, or have a history of failed viral eradication, according to two studies published in the June 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Ira M. Jacobson, M.D., from the Weill Cornell Medical College and Center for the Study of Hepatitis C in New York City, and colleagues evaluated the safety and efficacy of telaprevir in 1,088 patients with HCV genotype 1 infection who received no previous treatment. Sustained virologic response was seen in a significantly higher number of participants assigned to either 12 or 8 weeks of telaprevir with peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin (75 and 69 percent, respectively) than those in the peginterferon-ribavirin (PR) alone group (44 percent). The telaprevir groups had higher rates of discontinuation due to adverse events than the PR group (10 versus 7 percent).
Stefan Zeuzem, M.D., from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Medical Center in Frankfurt, Germany, and colleagues investigated the safety and efficacy of adding telaprevir to PR in 663 patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection who had a failed virologic response to previous treatment. The groups assigned to telaprevir either before or after PR therapy had significantly higher rates of sustained virologic response, partial response, and no response, and more frequent Grade 3 adverse events than the PR group.
"The addition of telaprevir to peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin significantly increased the rates of sustained virologic response for patients who are chronically infected with HCV genotype 1," the authors write.
Several authors from the first study disclosed financial ties with several pharmaceutical companies, including Tibotec and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which funded both the studies.
Full Text - Jacobson (subscription or payment may be required)
Full Text - Zeuzem (subscription or payment may be required)
