Elbasvir/Grazoprevir for HCV Infection in Russia: A Randomized Trial

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major healthcare concern in Russia, where almost 5 million individuals are viremic. Elbasvir/grazoprevir is a fixed-dose combination therapy for the treatment of HCV genotype 1 and genotype 4 infection. The present analysis aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of elbasvir/grazoprevir in individuals with HCV infection enrolled at Russian study sites in the C-CORAL study.

C-CORAL (Protocol PN-5172-067; NCT02251990) was a Phase 3, placebo-controlled, double-blind study conducted throughout Asia and Russia. Treatment-naive participants with chronic HCV infection were randomly assigned to receive immediate or deferred treatment with elbasvir 50 mg/grazoprevir 100 mg once daily for 12 weeks. Participants in the immediate-treatment group received elbasvir/grazoprevir for 12 weeks, and those in the deferred-treatment group received placebo for 12 weeks, followed by open-label elbasvir/grazoprevir for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after completion of therapy (SVR12).

One hundred and nineteen Russian participants were randomized (immediate-treatment group, n=88; deferred-treatment group, n=31). Most participants were white (99%) with HCV genotype 1b infection (97%) and mild-to-moderate (F0-F2) fibrosis (70%). SVR12 was achieved by 98.9% participants in the immediate-treatment group and by 100% of those receiving deferred elbasvir/grazoprevir in the deferred-treatment group. One participant relapsed with nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) L28M and Y93H resistance-associated substitutions at baseline and at time of failure. Drug-related adverse events were reported by 19% of participants receiving elbasvir/grazoprevir in the immediate-treatment group and by 16% of those receiving placebo in the deferred-treatment group. No serious adverse event or deaths occurred, and no participant discontinued treatment owing to an adverse event.

Elbasvir/grazoprevir for 12 weeks was highly effective in treatment-naive Russian individuals with HCV genotype 1b infection.