Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) actions in treatment-naïve patients

SummaryThe introduction of telaprevir (TVR) and boceprevir (BOC), the first approved protease inhibitors against hepatitis C virus (HCV), into clinical practice represented the start of an exciting new era of HCV treatment. In addition to improving sustained virological response (SVR) rates in HCV genotype-1 treatment-naïve patients, these drugs administered as a triple combination with pegylated interferon (pegIFN) and ribavirin (RBV) provide opportunities for more patients to receive shorter durations of treatment (24–28 weeks) than with pegIFN/RBV alone (48 weeks). Also, the use of TVR and BOC is being enhanced by the acquisition of further data on predictors of SVR, thereby increasing patients’chances of being cured of their HCV infection.