title: Mixing and matching drugs: what makes sense?
abstract: The introduction and ongoing development of directly acting antiviral agents (DAAs) and drugs targeting host cell structures will change the management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The concomitant use of the protease inhibitors telaprevir or boceprevir with the standard of care, a combination of pegylated interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin, will represent the new standard for the treatment of HCV genotype 1 infection. Contraindications and side effects limit the applicability of interferon-based therapies and motivate the investigation of PegIFN-sparing regimens. Different DAA combinations under investigation are reviewed in this article.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 1, JW Goethe University Hospital, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt a.M., Germany.
authors.forename: Tania M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Welzel
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeuzem
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005838:Genotype; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012254:Ribavirin; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C087036:NS-5 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a