title: Novel hepatitis C drugs in current trials.
abstract: Almost half of the patients who have chronic hepatitis C cannot be cured with the current standard treatment. Recent progress in structure determination of HCV proteins and development of a subgenomic replicon system and a cell culture infectious HCV clone enabled the development of a specifically targeted antiviral therapy for hepatitis C (STAT-C). Many HCV-specific compounds are under investigation in preclinical and clinical trials. The development of agents in different classes may allow construction of antiviral combinations that enhance the effectiveness of antiviral treatment, reduce the duration of treatment, and, eventually, may even avoid the use of interferon-alfa.
authors.affiliation: Zentrum der Inneren Medizin, Medizinische Klinik 1, Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kronenberger
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Welsch
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Forestier
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeuzem
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral