Adding Boceprevir Improves Virologic Response in Chronic HCV-1

The eagerly awaited results of these two clinical trials show "impressive" increases in the rates of sustained virologic response when boceprevir is added to standard peginterferon-ribavirin therapy for chronic HCV type 1.

"HCV protease inhibitors represent a major advance in our ability to treat chronic HCV infection," and indicate that "a new era of therapy for hepatitis C virus infection is dawning."

The anemia associated with the drug and the finding that 9% of patients required blood transfusions are cause for concern, as are the increased rates of dysgeusia, rash, and dry skin. However, only 8%-12% of patients discontinued boceprevir because of adverse events.

Donald M. Jensen, M.D., is with the Center for Liver Diseases at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He reported ties to numerous industry sources, including Merck. These remarks were taken from his editorial accompanying the two reports (N. Engl. J. Med. 2011;364:1272-4).