Advances in the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection

Therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with pegylated interferon α and ribavirin leads to suboptimal rates of viral eradication in patients with genotype 1 HCV, the most common viral strain in the United States and many other countries. Recent advances in the study of viral kinetics, host factors that predict response to antiviral therapy, and viral protein structure have established the foundation of a new era in the treatment of HCV infection. The HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitors boceprevir and telaprevir, the first 2 agents in a new and promising generation of direct-acting antiviral agents to have completed phase III studies, were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in May 2011. The addition of these HCV protease inhibitors to standard therapy has been demonstrated to dramatically improve sustained virologic response rates, both in treatment-naïve patients and in prior relapsers and nonresponders. These novel agents represent only the beginning of a revolution in HCV therapy, which will include additional protease inhibitors as well as other classes of drugs currently under investigation, such as polymerase inhibitors, NS5A inhibitors, and host factor inhibitors such as cyclophilin antagonists. The future of HCV therapy holds promise for significantly higher sustained virologic response rates with shorter treatment durations, as well as the intriguing potential to achieve virologic cure with interferon-free combination therapy regimens.