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New agents for the treatment of hepatitis C virus – focus on telaprevir

Authors Thompson A, Patel K

Received 21 May 2012

Accepted for publication 6 July 2012

Published 1 November 2012 Volume 2012:4 Pages 75—84

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/VAAT.S12707

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



AJ Thompson,1–3 K Patel3

1Department of Gastroenterology, St Vincent's Hospital, University of Melbourne, 2Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 3Duke Clinical Research Institute and Department of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

Abstract: Antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is rapidly evolving with the advent of direct-acting antiviral agents. Telaprevir is a first-generation linear ketoamide inhibitor of HCV NS3 protease. Approved in 2011 as standard-of-care for the treatment of patients chronically infected with HCV genotype 1, telaprevir represents a major therapeutic advance. Used in combination with PEGylated interferon-alfa and ribavirin, telaprevir-based regimens cured > 75% of treatment-naïve patients in the Phase III registration studies. Telaprevir is also effective for patients who have previously failed interferon-based therapy. Telaprevir presents a number of new challenges for clinicians, including a more demanding dosing schedule, telaprevir-specific adverse events, potential for drug–drug interactions, and selection of drug-resistant HCV variants.

Keywords: telaprevir, HCV, NS3, protease inhibitor, resistance

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