The Hepatitis C Treatment Pipeline
HCV treatment strategies must continue to evolve in order to forestall drug resistance and meet the needs of different populations. Some people cannot use peginterferon and ribavirin, and it is ineffective for ~50%, leaving many unsuccessfully treated people (see box: Terms for HCV Treatment Response by Population and Time Point). But adding a single DAA to SOC will not work for all treatment-experienced people. So far, it is clear that adding a DAA to SOC on therapy is most likely to work for people who relapsed or experienced viral breakthrough. Adding a single drug is less likely to work for people who have HCV that is not responsive to peginterferon, as is the case with treatment nonresponders and null responders. Using two or more DAAs may be effective and lower the risk of drug resistance for non- and null responders, but more research is needed to determine retreatment strategies for these groups.
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