Boceprevir: New possibilities for the antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Abstract

The given clinical review covers current antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Traditional antiviral therapy with pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 allows a sustained virological response (SVR) to be achieved in no more than 40% of the treated patients. The practical introduction of the third component of the therapy as direct-acting antiviral agents makes it possible to substantially increase SVR, on the one hand, and to reduce treatment time, on the other hand. This review carefully analyzes the results of clinical trials of boceprevir (a new direct-acting antiviral agent and an NS3 serine protease inhibitor) that, when incorporated into an antiviral therapy regimen with pegylated interferons and ribavirin, considerably improves treatment results in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1. Also, it discusses the safety and tolerance of drugs that belong to the class of hepatitis C virus serine protease inhibitors, as well as the problem of viral resistance.

Keywords

• hepatitis c virus
• protease inhibitor
• boceprevir
• viral resistance