The 61st Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), also called the Liver Meeting, will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, November 4 – November 8, 2011. Highlights include SVR and early stage results from clinical trials of novel interferon-free DAA combinations, quad combinations designed to provide a shorter therapy duration, second generation protease inhibitors, NS5A inhibitors, and nucleosides. Deep sequencing methods have been applied to better understand the nature and implications of resistance associated variations.

This preview provides an overview of the hepatitis C DAA pipeline, along with a table summarizing efficacy and major safety points for drugs in development. Another table summarizes the DAA pipeline with a view towards combinations. Bullet points on highlights are listed below. We have also included a conference planner at the end of the report. To obtain the planner in Excel, please email clientservices@pharmaintel.informa.com or contact your sales representative.

Key Points

• Telaprevir has taken a substantial lead over boceprevir, a result which can be attributed to several factors including shorter duration of triple therapy with PR and a perception of greater efficacy, with a larger percent of early responders who are eligible for a shorter duration of overall treatment.
• Non-interferon containing DAA combinations are providing attractive SVR rates in easier-to-treat genotypes, and promising early response rates in genotype 1
  • High SVR rates in GT1b infected patients with an interferon-free combination of protease inhibitor BMS-650032 and NS5A inhibitor BMS-790052.
  • PSI-7977 plus RBV provides high RVR rates in GT2 and GT3 which persist at least to Week 12
• The speed with which development is occurring creates a limited window of opportunity for new therapeutic regimens consisting of DAAs dosed in combination with interferon
• Quad regimens designed to provide a shortened course of therapy of as little as 12 weeks, such as the VX-222 telaprevir combo, pose an additional competitive threat to DAA/peginterferon/ribavirin combinations
• Other presentations provide an early look at new agents such as the potent nucleoside PSI-938 and the polymerase inhibitor MK-5712
• Deep sequencing studies are providing a more in-depth look at the nature and kinetics of resistance development which will inform future work in faster, more efficacious treatments with a more attractive side effect profile.

For the full report, please download the PDF version at the top of this page.

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