Panvirals Continue to Deliver Good News

Delivering on predictions made at major liver disease meetings over the past year, researchers said two experimental panvirals are curing hepatitis patients who had not been helped by direct-acting antivirals.

ABT-493, a pangenotypic NS3/4A protease inhibitor, and ABT-530, a pangenotypic NS5A are both made by AbbVie in collaboration with Enanta, a Watertown, MA biotech specializing in small molecule pharmaceuticals.

In patients with hepatitis C virus, those with genotype 3 have been the hardest to cure. In a study presented at the International Liver Congress in Barcelona April 16, researchers said the new investigational drug combo is showing efficacy.

Paul Kwo, MD of the University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, IN and colleagues reported that taking ABT-493 and ABT-530 helped patients with heavily scarred livers who were treatment naïve to achieve a sustained virologic response at 12 weeks (SVR12) after completing eight weeks of treatment

According to the company, in studies knowns as in SURVEYOR-1 and 2 studies

97-98 percent of patients with genotypes 1-3 achieved SVR12 with eight weeks of ABT-493 and ABT-530 in genotypes 1-3.

In a related finding, researchers reported 100 percent SVR12 achieved in difficult-to-treat genotype 3 patients with compensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh A) who were treatment-naïve.

They also reported 100 percent SVR12 achieved with 12 weeks of treatment in genotypes 4-6 patients without cirrhosis.

The company’s detailed accounts of ongoing trials and earlier results are here

In presenting the Indiana results Kwo said the only disappointment has been that treatment-experienced patients with genotype 3 whose livers were cirrhotic had a lower rate of success, with 60% achieving SVR12.

“Clinical trials are ongoing,” Kwo said, “We are now focusing on a larger cohort of HCV genotype 3 patients, including treatment-experienced patients.”