Hep C Discussion Forum

INGELHEIM, 16 December, 2013 - Data show that Boehringer Ingelheim`s second-generation protease inhibitor faldaprevir, when used in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, was effective even with the presence of naturally-occurring mutant variants of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), such as the NS3 Q80K polymorphism. The Q80K mutant was detected in 23% (49/127, STARTVerso1) and 40% (159/398, STARTVerso2) of genotype-1a infected patients. Its presence was found to have no effect on the chances of viral cure (SVR12) in genotype-1 infected hepatitis C patients treated with faldaprevir plus pegylated interferon and ribavirin. These data were presented last week at HEP DART 2013, taking place in Big Island, Hawaii.

"These data are encouraging as they demonstrate that HCV genotype-1 infected patients irrespective of the presence of the common HCV Q80K variant may benefit from faldaprevir," said Christoph Sarrazin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. "In some parts of the world, the Q80K mutation is present in almost 50% of genotype-1a infected patients, who will potentially require additional screening prior to using some HCV protease inhibitors. With faldaprevir`s efficacy against HCV Q80K, physicians should be able to avoid screening for this mutation prior to treatment of genotype-1a infected patients."

Faldaprevir is the core component of Boehringer Ingelheim`s investigational hepatitis C pipeline and is being studied in combinations both with and without interferon.

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