HCV New Drugs

At the 2017 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle, Washington, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was a major focus in the context of HIV-associated liver disease. Well-tolerated direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens have enabled effective treatment of the populations that are hardest to cure, including those with decompensated cirrhosis, and many studies examined the impact of HCV cure on hepatitis and extrahepatic outcomes. Scaling up access to DAAs and the impact that their universal availability can have on reducing prevalence were key topics. There was much discussion of what is needed to eliminate HCV on local and global levels and a focus on ensuring that the populations hardest to reach can access treatment. Prevention of new infections and reinfection will be key to sustaining the benefits of scaled-up HCV treatment, with particular attention to populations at elevated risk for HCV reinfection, including HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) as well as some HIV-uninfected MSM on preexposure prophylaxis. In the hepatitis B virus (HBV) arena, a landmark phase III trial demonstrated that tenofovir disoproxil fumarate given to HBV-infected pregnant women at week 28 of gestation, in combination with postpartum HBV vaccination and hepatitis B immunoglobulin, resulted in zero mother-to-child transmissions of HBV.

Keywords: CROI, 2017, hepatitis, HBV, HCV, viral hepatitis, direct acting antivirals  

Authors Bio: Dr Luetkemeyer is Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco. Dr Wyles is Chief of the Infectious Diseases Division at Denver Health in Colorado. Send correspondence to Anne F. Luetkemeyer, MD, 995 Potrero Ave, Box 0874, San Francisco, CA 94110.

Selected Topics
HCV Natural History and Markers of Clinical Fibrosis
CROI 2017 - Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)
February 13-16, 2017, Seattle WA