Abbott’s New Hep C Drugs Produce High Cure Rates in Trials

Abbott Laboratories has been seeing some significant success with their new trio of oral drugs developed to treat hepatitis C. In fact, the latest results from one of their clinical trials for hepatitis C  show that these drugs are eliciting unprecedented cure rates among patients that had not received any benefits from the standard treatments available for this infectious disease. The results also show really positive marks amongst the participants who were being treated for hepatitis C for the first time.

In November, researchers released a detailed analysis of their mid-stage hepatitis C clinical trial, which was called Aviator, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) in Boston. Attendees were very interested to hear how these new medications could combat the symptoms of this infectious disease.

These New Hep C Drugs are Interferon Free

Currently, there are a large group of people who are living with hepatitis C, and many patients have very high hopes for the new drugs that Abbott is developing (a polymerase inhibitor labeled ABT-333, a protease inhibitor labeled ABT-450, and an NS5A inhibitor labeled ABT-267). Plus, the most intriguing aspect of these new hepatitis C drugs is that they do not contain any interferon, which has long been used as a standard form of treatment for hep C and can cause flu-like symptoms in patients.

As of now, Abbott has planned to move forward with their clinical trial testing, which would bring them to the larger Phase III studies for these new medications. During this next phase of clinical testing, participants may or may not receive ribavirin, the standard antiviral pill, in combination with the experimental hep c medications. This will all depend on the results that were recorded for patients who had received eight to twelve weeks of treatment in the Aviator trial. All of the participants in this trial had been diagnosed with the Genotype 1 strain of hepatitis C (while this is the most common strain, it is also the most difficult to treat).

Robust Results and High Hep C Cure Rates

Investigators for this clinical trial were amazed to find that such a significant proportion of their patients (around 93%) showed a sustained virologic response (SVR) following the 12 weeks of treatment with these new hepatitis C medications, especially considering that the prior forms of therapy had failed. Medically speaking, a sustained virologic response like this one means that the patient would be considered cured of their disease.

According to the senior members of this research team, these results were simply out of this world, as no one had been able to even break the 50 % cure rate utilizing this patient population. Now, Abbott has their sights set on being the first company to market an interferon-free treatment for hepatitis C patients with Genotype 1 infections.

This New Hep C Medication is Well Tolerated

Only 4 out of the 448 participants in the hepatitis C clinical trial had to discontinue the treatment due to adverse side effects from the medications. Abbott has not been shy about sharing this as evidence as to how well these new drugs can be tolerated.

Following 12 weeks of treatment with the three new Abbott drugs and ribavirin, the research team reported that 97% of these previously untreated participants were judged to be cured of their illness. Researchers also noted similarly impressive cure rates following 8 weeks of this particular treatment. When ribavirin was not included in the treatment process, the results showed that 87% of the previously untreated participants were considered to be cured following the course of 12 weeks on Abbott’s three drugs.

Competition to Produce an Interferon-Free Treatment for Hep C

Rival pharmaceutical giant, Gilead Sciences Inc looked to take some of the wind out of Abbott’s sails when they released the results from the clinical trials for their own new oral hep C medications. Their results showed an astonishing 100% cure rate amongst Genotype 1 patients who had previously undergone unsuccessful treatments for their hepatitis C. During this promising hep C clinical trial, participants were given two of Gilead’s oral medications and ribavirin for a period of 12 weeks.

Currently, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Vertex, and Gilead are racing to develop their own versions of an interferon-free treatment regimen for hepatitis C patients. Once the new line of medications is approved, they are predicted to be real blockbuster products. Compared to the drug regimens that are available now, these interferon-free medications have a much shorter treatment period and produce significantly better cure rates.

According to Abbott Labs, there could be as many as 170 million people who have been infected by HCV around the world. In America alone, there are at least 3 million people who are living with this disease, but the number could be even larger. Hepatitis C is a silent killer that can go undiagnosed for a decade or more, while it slowly eats away at the liver. They way many people see it; there has never been a better time to produce a more effective treatment for this deadly infection.