Zepatier Plus Sovaldi Beats Hep C in Those With Cirrhosis and Genotype 3

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Merck’s Zepatier (grazoprevir/elbasvir) plus Gilead Sciences’ Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), with or without ribavirin, cured genotype 3 of hepatitis C virus (HCV) at high rates in a recent trial.

Publishing their findings in the journal Hepatology, researchers conducted a Phase II randomized open-label study, known as C-ISLE, of Zepatier plus Sovaldi with or without ribavirin among those with genotype 3 of HCV and compensated cirrhosis (the milder form of the severe liver disease).

Those who had not been treated for hep C before were given Zepatier plus Sovaldi and ribavirin for eight weeks or Zepatier plus Sovaldi for 12 weeks. Those who had been previously treated with interferon and ribavirin received Zepatier plus Sovaldi with or without ribavirin for 12 weeks or Zepatier plus Sovaldi for 16 weeks.

Ninety-one percent (21 of 23) of the first-timers to treatment who were treated for eight weeks achieved a sustained virologic response 12 weeks after completing therapy (SVR12, considered a cure), as did 96 percent (23 of 24) of those treated for 12 weeks. Among those who had been treated before, 94 percent (17 of 18) and 100 percent (17 of 17) of those treated for 12 and 16 weeks, respectively, were cured.