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Interferon-free treatment works well for people who inject drugs, but barriers to access remain
Liz Highleyman, 2015-10-13 10:40:00
Hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs, including those receiving opioid substitution therapy (OST), was a major theme of the 4th International Symposium on Health Care in Substance Users (INHSU 2015) last week in Sydney, Australia. Studies show that treatment using new interferon-free regimens can be highly effective for this population, but barriers including high drug costs and stigma against drug users have hindered widespread access to therapy.
Jordan Feld of the University of Toronto set the stage with an overview of the current state of hepatitis C treatment and what is known about treating people who inject drugs. He concluded that while current therapies are well-tolerated and highly effective, we do not yet have a regimen that’s optimal for everyone – dubbed ‘perfectovir’.
Although good options exist for HCV genotype 1, better regimens are needed for genotype 3 – and the best would be pan-genotypic regimens that do not require genotypic testing. Simpler regimens would allow HCV treatment to move out of specialist clinics. Everyone is eager for shorter treatment duration, but Feld cautioned that shortening therapy too much can lead to treatment failure and drug resistance – six weeks seems to be the “edge of the cliff,” he said.
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