Preliminary results of a trial of Boehringer Ingelheim’s combination of faldaprevir, deleobuvir and Presidio’s PPI-668, with and without ribavirin, showed high promise in curing genotype 1a of hepatitis C virus (HCV), HCV Advocate News & Pipeline Blog reports. Representatives from BI presented early data on the Phase II trial of the combination therapy at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in Washington, DC.

The study was divided into three arms of 12 participants each. All participants took 200 milligrams once daily of the NS5A inhibitor PPI-668 and 1,200 mg once daily of the polymerase inhibitor deleobuvir. Group 1 also took 600 mg twice daily of the protease inhibitor faldaprevir and weight-based ribavirin. Group 2 also took ribavirin. And group 3 also took faldaprevir.

By week four of 12 weeks of treatment, 97 percent (35 out of 36) of the participants had achieved a suppressed hep C viral load. Of the 17 participants who completed treatment, all had an undetectable viral load. And all of 13 the participants who both completed treatment and had attended their four-week post-treatment visit had achieved a sustained viral load (SVR4; an SVR12 is considered a cure).

Side effects included mild to moderate rashes and gastrointestinal problems. One participant discontinued because of adverse side effects. That person had an undetectable viral load at week nine of treatment and maintained an undetectable status three weeks post-treatment.

To read the HCV Advocate report, visit hcvadvocate.blogspot.com/2013/11/aasld-2013-aasld-boehringer.html.