Abstract
Telaprevir: evidence and guidance for use in clinical practice
Author(s): Heather Lewis, Graham Foster Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and liver
transplantation worldwide, with an estimated 170 million people chronically infected. Pegylated
interferon and ribavirin (PR) have been the mainstay of treatment for the past 10 years with
sustained viral response rates of 41–82%. The use of PR is limited by its side-effect profile, the
prolonged treatment course required and its relatively low efficacy. Recently, two new therapies
have been approved for the treatment of chronic genotype 1 HCV in combination with PR, the
first-generation protease inhibitors telaprevir (TVR) and boceprevir. Phase III clinical trials show
that triple therapy with these agents significantly improves sustained viral response rates over
PR, but with an increase in adverse events. In this article, we discuss the development of TVR,
the current evidence supporting its use in genotype 1 HCV and give practical guidance on the
use of TVR in clinical practice.