SOF Plus SMV Eradicates HCV in Post–Liver Transplant Patients

BOSTON—All patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who receive a liver transplant will eventually infect their new livers with the virus, but a study by Mayo Clinic showed that the virus can be eradicated in these patients, thus preserving their new organs.

To prevent organ rejection, standard pre- and post-transplant treatment requires injections of pegylated interferon (pegIFN) with ribavirin (RBV). Interferon engages the immune system to keep the HCV in check, but this immune response can also lead to organ rejection, as well as a variety of other side effects including anemia, depression, irritability, influenza-like symptoms, insomnia and hair loss, according to Dr. Pungpapong, who presented the study results at The Liver Meeting 2014.  

The FDA approved SOF and SMV for pretransplant use last year, but the agency required that they be combined with interferon and RBV. In a large clinical trial, researchers tested the two drugs without interferon in pretransplantation patients and found the combination to be an effective therapy. In this study, the Mayo researchers extended the idea of using these medications together without pegIFN in post-transplant patients.  

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