Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of non-A non-B hepatitis worldwide. Infection with HCV can progress to chronic liver disease (chronic hepatitis C), which can then progress to serious conditions such as liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and terminal liver disease leading to death.
The current standard-of-care treatment for HCV infection is interferon-α (or its PEG-derivatized equivalent) in combination with ribavirin, a regimen that produces sustained virologic response in only 40% of people infected with the HCV genotype 1. This regimen has significant side effects, leading an unacceptable number of patients to discontinue treatment (Hepatology, 2002, 2, 205). There is a clear need for novel therapies that are both more effective, and more tolerable to treat patients.
Therefore, a need exists for the development of effective antiviral agents for treatment of HCV infection that overcomes the limitations of existing pharmaceutical therapies.