Telaprevir: looking for a sustained virologic response in hepatitis C virus infection.
Telaprevir, a hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3/NS4A protease inhibitor, was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection. When given in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, it demonstrated improved efficacy over conventional pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy. Improvement in efficacy was also noted in African American patients who traditionally respond less well to conventional anti-HCV treatment. While the role of telaprevir in the management of chronic HCV infection remains to be fully defined, its development and licensure represents an important milestone in anti-HCV therapeutics.