Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus far

Remarkable scientific breakthroughs have been made in the stride towards the development of potent and tolerable hepatitis C regimens within the last three decades. Earlier approaches involved the use of pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin as standard-of-care treatment. Treating genotype 1a inf...

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Main Authors: Ahmad Adebayo Irekeola, Engku Nur Syafirah EAR, Nur Amalin Zahirah Mohd Amin, Nazri Mustaffa, Rafidah Hanim Shueb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2022-02-01
Series:Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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Online Access:https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/14485
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author Ahmad Adebayo Irekeola
Engku Nur Syafirah EAR
Nur Amalin Zahirah Mohd Amin
Nazri Mustaffa
Rafidah Hanim Shueb
author_facet Ahmad Adebayo Irekeola
Engku Nur Syafirah EAR
Nur Amalin Zahirah Mohd Amin
Nazri Mustaffa
Rafidah Hanim Shueb
author_sort Ahmad Adebayo Irekeola
collection DOAJ
description Remarkable scientific breakthroughs have been made in the stride towards the development of potent and tolerable hepatitis C regimens within the last three decades. Earlier approaches involved the use of pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin as standard-of-care treatment. Treating genotype 1a infection with this regimen which was at that time considered the gold standard for hepatitis C virus therapy was rife with challenges; safety and toxicity issues necessitated a rigorous quest for alternative regimens. Deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of hepatitis C virus ushered in the era of direct acting antiviral agents. These agents have been the subject of intensive research in the last two decades, leading to the development of drug classes such as protease inhibitors (e.g., grazoprevir), NS5A inhibitors (e.g., daclatasvir) and NS5B inhibitors (e.g., sofosbuvir). While many are still under development, several have been approved for hepatitis C therapy. A number of studies investigating the combination of direct acting antiviral agents with or without pegylated interferon and/or ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis have demonstrated sustained virologic response of > 90%. Given the array of direct acting antiviral agents currently available, the present landscape of hepatitis C therapy is now characterized by a gradual transition to all-oral interferon-free regimens. Despite these milestones, the WHO global target of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health problem by 2030 seems uncertain. In this review, we provide a concise account of the evolution and advancements in the development of anti-HCV regimens.
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spelling doaj-art-dec90fb25e354b8eb18e84b606b471b72025-08-20T03:52:42ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802022-02-01160210.3855/jidc.14485Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus farAhmad Adebayo Irekeola0Engku Nur Syafirah EAR1Nur Amalin Zahirah Mohd Amin2Nazri Mustaffa3Rafidah Hanim Shueb4Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MalaysiaDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MalaysiaDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MalaysiaDepartment of Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MalaysiaDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia Remarkable scientific breakthroughs have been made in the stride towards the development of potent and tolerable hepatitis C regimens within the last three decades. Earlier approaches involved the use of pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin as standard-of-care treatment. Treating genotype 1a infection with this regimen which was at that time considered the gold standard for hepatitis C virus therapy was rife with challenges; safety and toxicity issues necessitated a rigorous quest for alternative regimens. Deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of hepatitis C virus ushered in the era of direct acting antiviral agents. These agents have been the subject of intensive research in the last two decades, leading to the development of drug classes such as protease inhibitors (e.g., grazoprevir), NS5A inhibitors (e.g., daclatasvir) and NS5B inhibitors (e.g., sofosbuvir). While many are still under development, several have been approved for hepatitis C therapy. A number of studies investigating the combination of direct acting antiviral agents with or without pegylated interferon and/or ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis have demonstrated sustained virologic response of > 90%. Given the array of direct acting antiviral agents currently available, the present landscape of hepatitis C therapy is now characterized by a gradual transition to all-oral interferon-free regimens. Despite these milestones, the WHO global target of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health problem by 2030 seems uncertain. In this review, we provide a concise account of the evolution and advancements in the development of anti-HCV regimens. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/14485hepatitis Canti-HCVantiviralDAAinterferonoligonucleotide
spellingShingle Ahmad Adebayo Irekeola
Engku Nur Syafirah EAR
Nur Amalin Zahirah Mohd Amin
Nazri Mustaffa
Rafidah Hanim Shueb
Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus far
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
hepatitis C
anti-HCV
antiviral
DAA
interferon
oligonucleotide
title Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus far
title_full Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus far
title_fullStr Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus far
title_full_unstemmed Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus far
title_short Antivirals against HCV infection: the story thus far
title_sort antivirals against hcv infection the story thus far
topic hepatitis C
anti-HCV
antiviral
DAA
interferon
oligonucleotide
url https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/14485
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