AbbVie hepatitis C drugs knock out virus at eight weeks

By Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot

(Reuters) - A combination of five oral drugs being tested by AbbVie Inc cured at least 88 percent of new patients with hepatitis C after only eight weeks of treatment, without raising significant safety issues, researchers said on Tuesday.

The latest findings from an ongoing trial sponsored by AbbVie, called Aviator, also showed that 96 percent of patients taking the five medicines for 12 weeks eliminated the virus, as assessed by blood tests 24 weeks after they stopped treatment.

If the virus is undetectable 24 weeks after completing treatment, known as SVR 24, a patient is considered cured.

The latest results were deemed little different than the 99 percent sustained virologic response (SVR) rate reported in October, for patients evaluated 12 weeks after completing 12 weeks of the five-drug treatment regimen.

"We are pleased that the data remain consistent and robust," said Dr. Kris Kowdley, who is presenting the data this week at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Amsterdam.

"The data confirm that the 12-week treatment appears to be optimal, but certainly we are still very pleased with ... data for the eight-week treatment," Kowdley said in an interview.

AbbVie is deemed to be in a horse race with Gilead Sciences Inc to be first to market with an all-oral treatment for the serious liver disease, as companies work to eliminate difficult-to-tolerate intravenous interferon from the regimen, while raising cure rates and shortening treatment duration.

Current hepatitis C treatments take either 24 or 48 weeks.

Hepatitis C affects an estimated 170 million people worldwide, and if left untreated can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer or the need for a new liver.

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AbbVie hepatitis C drugs knock out virus at eight weeks