SVR for early responders on Pegasys/Copegus

Data presented at the 57th annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases suggest that over three-quarters of hepatitis C patients with difficult-to-cure genotypes-1 and -4 who had a rapid response to treatment went on to achieve a sustained virological response following only 24 weeks of treatment with the Roche drugs Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a (40KD)) plus Copegus (ribavirin).

In this study, patients on 180mg once-weekly Pegasys plus a 1,000mg-1,200mg daily dose of Copegus were measured to identify those who were virus-free in the fourth week of treatment. These so-called super-responders were treated for only another 20 weeks, receiving a total of 24 weeks of therapy. Those who had an early virological response, defined as an undetectable viral load or a drop in viral load to less than 1% of pretreatment levels at week 12, were randomized to receive either 48 or 72 weeks of therapy.

Roche noted that 77% of super responders in the study achieved a sustained virological response, which is indicative of a cure. Among those who had an EVR, SVR rates were similar (56% of patients treated for 48 weeks achieved an SVR versus 43% for 72 week therapy). Patients who did not have an EVR were highly unlikely to achieve an SVR (4%) even after 72 weeks.