Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir regimen shows 99% efficacy in treating HCV

US pharma major AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) has announced that 99% (n=145/146) of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients with genotype 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6 and compensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh A) achieved sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-treatment (SVR12) with its investigational, pan-genotypic regimen of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P).

These high SVR12 rates were seen following 12 weeks of G/P treatment without ribavirin. Patients with specific virus strains associated with resistance or with a high quantity of the virus in their bloodstream before treatment initiation were not excluded from the study. These new data, from the Phase III EXPEDITION-1 study, will be featured as an oral presentation today at The International Liver Congress (ILC) 2017 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

“We have already seen great progress in the treatment of HCV patients with compensated cirrhosis. However, treatment challenges remain related to the use of ribavirin,” said Xavier Forns, head of hepatitis unit, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Spain. “The positive findings from the EXPEDITION-1 study, along with previously reported data, show that G/P has the potential to become a ribavirin-free treatment for patients with compensated cirrhosis across these genotypes,” he added.