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Liver function and survival improve after treatment with Viekirax + Exviera regimen
Liz Highleyman, 2015-06-18 07:50:00
Hepatitis C patients treated with AbbVie's Viekirax plus Exviera or '3D' regimen saw improvements in liver function biomarkers, had better quality of life and had increased survival compared to untreated people, according to mathematical model studies presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress in Vienna. One model showed that treatment can be cost-effective at all stages of liver disease.
The advent of direct-acting antiretroviral agents (DAAs) that can be used in interferon-free regimens has brought about a revolution in chronic hepatitis C treatment. While recently approved DAA regimens produce sustained virological response, or continued undetectable HCV viral load at 12 weeks after completing treatment (SVR12), data are still needed on how viral clearance affects longer-term outcomes such as liver disease progression and survival.
Over years or decades, chronic HCV infection can lead to advanced liver disease including cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, a type of liver cancer) and decompensated liver failure. The old interferon-based therapy was generally reserved for patients with progressive liver disease due to its poor tolerability.
Many experts believe everyone with hepatitis C can benefit from treatment with the new well-tolerated and highly effective interferon-free therapies, but due to their high cost many payers still want to limit treatment to patients with advanced disease.
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