Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most common etiologies of liver-related mortality throughout the world. Traditionally, therapy has been focused on pegylated interferon in combination with ribavirin, with clinical trials demonstrating that HCV genotype 1 had the lowest response rate (40-50%), while genotype 3 had an intermediate response rate (60-70%). Recently, significant advances have been made with all-oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy, which have significantly improved cure rates for HCV genotype 1. Accordingly, HCV genotype 3 is now potentially the most difficult to treat. One of the most potent DAA medications is sofosbuvir, a pan-genotypic nucleotide analogue that inhibits the NS5B polymerase of HCV. Daclatasvir, a pan-genotypic inhibitor of the HCV NS5A replication complex, was recently approved in the United States for treatment of HCV genotype 3 in conjunction with sofosbuvir. This combination may provide a powerful tool in the treatment of HCV genotype 3.
Keywords: Direct-acting antiviral; genotype 1; pegylated interferon; ribavirin.