The HCV protease inhibitor faldaprevir added to pegylated interferon and
ribavirin increased the likelihood that HIV/HCV co-infected people would
achieve a sustained virological response at four weeks after completing treatment,
according to a report at the 14th European AIDS Conference last week
in Brussels.
The advent of direct-acting
antivirals has brought revolutionary change to the
hepatitis C treatment field. Although
these new drugs will ultimately be used in all-oral regimens, those approved
first will initially be used as add-ons to pegylated interferon/ribavirin.
Jürgen Rockstroh from the University
of Bonn presented interim findings
from the STARTVerso 4 study evaluating faldaprevir plus pegylated interferon
and ribavirin in HIV-positive people with hepatitis C co-infection. HIV/HCV co-infected people experience
more rapid liver disease progression and do not respond as well to interferon
as those with hepatitis C alone.
Glossary
- IL28B
An inherited gene which all individuals have. There are three genotypes of IL28B; these influence response to hepatitis C and its treatment. People with CC genotype are more likely to spontaneously clear acute infection or (during chronic infection) respond well to interferon-based treatment. The other two genotypes are known as CT and TT.
- neutropenia
A shortage of neutrophils, a type of white blood
cell that fights bacterial infections.
Faldaprevir (formerly BI
201335), an HCV NS3/4 protease inhibitor, is
active against HCV genotypes 1, 4, 5 and 6. It has previously demonstrated good
efficacy and tolerability in HIV-negative people with hepatitis C alone, both in combination with pegylated interferon/ribavirin and in all-oral, interferon-free regimens.
This open-label phase 3 study enrolled 308
people with HIV/HCV co-infection who were either never before treated for hepatitis C
(78%) or were relapsers after a prior attempt at interferon-based therapy
(22%). Rockstroh noted that this is the largest number of
patients studied so far in a co-infection trial.
Most participants (81%) were men, 83% were white,
14% were black and the average age was 47 years. They were enrolled in Europe
(73%), North America (22%) and Brazil (5%). About half had the favourable IL28B
'CC' variant associated with interferon responsiveness, 79% had harder-to-treat
HCV subtype 1a and 15% had liver cirrhosis.
Participants were required to be either on stable
antiretroviral therapy (ART) or HIV treatment-naive with a CD4 cell
count of at least 500 cells/mm3. At baseline, the mean CD4 count was
537 cells/mm3 and only eleven people were not on ART. About half of
treated patients (46%) were taking raltegravir (Isentress), 27% were taking efavirenz (Sustiva) and 22% were taking either boosted atazanavir (Reyataz) or darunavir (Prezista).
Participants were treated with once-daily faldaprevir
in combination with pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) plus
weight-based ribavirin. Previous studies showed that faldaprevir – a moderate
CYP3A4 inhibitor – can interact with certain antiretrovirals, so doses were
adjusted accordingly. Those taking boosted atazanavir or darunavir (which
raises faldaprevir by 130%) used 120mg faldaprevir, whilst those taking
efavirenz (which lowers faldaprevir levels by 35%) used 240mg. Participant who
were either ART naive or taking raltegravir were randomly assigned to receive
either 120mg or 240mg.
Everyone assigned to 120mg
faldaprevir stayed on triple therapy for 24 weeks. Those taking 240mg were
randomly assigned to take faldaprevir for 12 or 24 weeks. Duration of the
pegylated/interferon 'tail' was determined using response-guided therapy.
People with 'early treatment success' (HCV RNA <25 IU/ml at week 4 and
undetectable at week 8) stopped all drugs at 24 weeks, whilst those without
continued pegylated interferon/ribavirin through week 48.
Rockstroh reported rates of
sustained virological response (SVR, or continued undetectable HCV viral load) at
four weeks after completion of therapy (SVR4). Relapse can still occur after
this point so people with SVR4 are not yet considered cured. Regulatory
agencies now consider SVR at 12 weeks post-treatment (SVR12) to
indicate a cure.
Looking at the overall
study population, 74% achieved SVR4. This included 72% of people treated with
120mg faldaprevir for 24 weeks, 79% of those treated with 240mg for 12 weeks
and 84% of those treated with 240mg for 24 weeks.
The SVR4 rate for people
with HCV subtype 1a was 74% compared with 77% for those with 1b, indicating
that viral subtype is not a key determinant of response as it is for some other
direct-acting antivirals. People with and without cirrhosis also had similar
SVR4 rates, 76% and 74%, respectively.
Prior treatment status did
have an effect, however: 71% of previously untreated patients achieved SVR4
compared with 87% of relapsers. IL28B also played a role, as those with the
favourable 'CC' genotype had an SVR4 rate of 89% compared with 67% for those
with either the 'CT' or 'TT' variants.
Amongst the randomised
participants, a majority – 77% taking 120mg faldaprevir for 24 weeks and 81%
taking 240mg – had 'early treatment success', and, for these individuals, SVR4
rates were 89 and 87%, respectively.
Faldaprevir triple therapy
was generally safe and well tolerated. Almost all participants experienced some
side-effects, as is typical with interferon. One in ten experienced serious
adverse events and 44% had grade 3 or higher laboratory abnormalities
(including 16% with neutropenia and 19% with elevated bilirubin), but only two
people (1%) stopped faldaprevir for this reason. One person taking 120mg
faldaprevir experienced HIV viral rebound.
"Faldaprevir was highly efficacious and well tolerated in
difficult-to-treat patients co-infected with HIV and HCV genotype 1," the
researchers concluded. "Response rates were comparable across faldaprevir
doses and durations and among patients who received either 24 or 48 weeks of
pegylated interferon/ribavirin."
"The safety profile of faldaprevir in HIV and HCV genotype 1
coinfected patients was similar to that observed in HCV genotype 1 mono-infected
patients," they added.
These findings are promising and indicate that adding
faldaprevir to pegylated interferon/ribavirin can shorten treatment and improve
response rates, as SVR4 is a good predictor of SVR12. Rockstroh said that 24
weeks of treatment is "probably sufficient" as continuing pegylated
interferon/ribavirin alone did not offer much benefit.
A limitation of this study is that it excluded prior null
responders, the most difficult group to treat. Rockstroh noted that this was
one of the first co-infection trials started after the poorly tolerated first-generation
HCV protease inhibitors, and as null responders with cirrhosis were expected to respond less well, "no
one wanted to take the risk."