The All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) has recommended AbbVie’s Maviret for use within NHS Wales, UK, to treat adults suffering from chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
Indicated for HCV infection across all major genotypes (GT1-6), Maviret is a once-daily, ribavirin-free regimen with a combination of 100mg of glecaprevir and 40mg of pibrentasvir, which targets and inhibits proteins required for the viral replication.
Discovered under the firm’s alliance with Enanta Pharmaceuticals, glecaprevir is an inhibitor of NS3/4A, while pibrentasvir inhibits NS5A.
University Hospital of Wales Infectious Diseases & Microbiology consultant Dr Brendan Healy said: “New treatments, such as Maviret, offer patients with all the major genotypes of hepatitis C a chance of clearing the virus with as little as eight weeks of treatment.
“This is good news for patients who now have a number of treatment choices that can benefit their quality of life and health.”
Healy further added that the cost-effective treatment could make a positive impact on overall public health by minimising the pool of disease and aid the elimination agenda of World Health Organisation (WHO).
Maviret secured marketing authorisation from the European Commission in July this year for the treatment of HCV infection in adult patients without cirrhosis.
The authorisation was supported by results obtained from eight registrational studies carried out under the firm’s clinical development programme in more than 2,300 subjects across 27 countries.
Maviret was reported to have demonstrated a 97% cure rate following eight weeks of treatment.
Image: Hepatitis C virus. Photo: courtesy of BruceBlaus via Wikipedia.
