Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and Olysio (simeprevir), with or without ribavirin, cures over 90 percent of people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) who have had a liver transplant, MedPage Today reports. Researchers are conducting a study of 109 people with genotype 1 of hep C whose virus returned in their new livers. They presented preliminary findings at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston.

The participants were treated for 12 weeks with Gilead Sciences’ Sovaldi and Janssen’s Olysio, a combination that was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. About a quarter of the participants also received ribavirin.

Of the 101 participants who have finished treatment, 99 (98 percent) had an undetectable viral load upon completion. Eighty-three out of 90 participants (92 percent) who have made it four weeks after completing therapy achieved a sustained virologic response (SVR4), which indicates a high likelihood they will eventually be pronounced cured. Sixty out of 66 participants (91 percent) who have made it 12 weeks past the end of therapy have achieved an SVR12, which indicates they are cured.

Ribavirin did not affect the outcome of treatment.

However, 96 percent those with fibrosis stages zero through 2 achieved an SVR12, compared with 76 percent of participants with fibrosis stages 3 and 4. This difference in outcomes was more pronounced among those with genotype 1a.

Most adverse side effects were mild. They included fatigue, raised bilirubin, nausea and headache. Among those taking ribavirin, 42 percent developed anemia, compared with 2 percent among the other participants.

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