Arrival of new hepatitis C therapies will increase the drug-treated population in China

19 June 2014

China’s market for hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs will be driven by an increase in its drug-treated population, following the introduction of novel HCV therapies.

Nearly a third of patients diagnosed with HCV do not receive the current standard of treatment - the combination of pegylated-interferon-alpha (peg-IFN-alpha) and ribavirin - because they have not responded to this regimen in the past, according to a new report from Decision Resources Group. The arrival of IFN-free regimens will bring patients who have not responded to currently available drugs back into treatment, thereby significantly increasing the drug-treated population, it states.

Other key findings from the Special Report Patient Flow in Hepatitis C Virus: Changing Treatment Dynamics in China include:

Impact of side effects on use of peg-IFN/ribavirin: According to interviewed Chinese physicians, significant side effects such as liver damage/advanced disease, neutropenia and anemia are the key reasons patients are deemed ineligible for peg-IFN/ribavirin treatment regimens.
Availability of novel therapies: Interviewed Chinese physicians anticipate the availability of novel therapies will increase the number of HCV patients they see each month.
Patients delaying treatment: Around 15% p of HCV genotype 1 treatment-naive patients are delaying treatment until IFN-free therapies are available, according to interviewed Chinese physicians.

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