New treatments for chronic hepatitis C

The hepatitis C virus is highly prevalent and affects approximately 2% of the population. As the years pass, a significant proportion of patients with this chronic infection develop hepatic cirrhosis and liver cancer, and some have to receive liver transplants. The treatment of hepatitis C has until now been that of interferon with ribavirin, two anti-viral drugs that act by stimulating immunity to viral infections. Until only a few years ago, no "in vitro" system existed for studying the virus, and as a result the advances in the field of treating the infection have been very small. A short while ago, the first “replicon” of the virus was developed, that is, a sub-genomic structure which codifies the nonstructural regions of the virus and is capable of replicating and perpetuating itself in cell culture. This meant that molecules with an inhibitor effect on some of the proteins of the virus could be studied and designed. This was the case in 2006 when the first drug was developed which acted against a protein of the virus, specifically the viral protease. Progress towards obtaining new drugs has been very rapid, and today two inhibitors of the protease are available on the market (Boceprevir and Telaprevir), as well as a range of new drugs that are in the advanced stages of development (nucleotide analogues, polymerase inhibitors, NS5A inhibitors). In a few years, it is likely that hepatitis C can be eradicated with short, safe treatments, without the use of interferon.