Efficacy and safety of 6 or 8 weeks of simeprevir, daclatasvir, sofosbuvir for HCV genotype 1 infection.

The phase 2, open-label ACCORDION (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02349048) study investigated the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of a 6- or 8-week regimen of simeprevir, daclatasvir and sofosbuvir in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype (GT) 1 infection and either early-stage fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis. Patients were assigned to treatment groups according to their fibrosis stage. Early-stage fibrosis: simeprevir 150 mg, daclatasvir 60 mg, sofosbuvir 400 mg once daily for 6 weeks; compensated cirrhosis: same regimen for 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR12). Safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of simeprevir, daclatasvir and sofosbuvir were investigated. Sixty-eight patients were treated (6-week group: n = 59; 8-week group: n = 9). SVR12 was achieved by 86.4% (51/59) of patients with early-stage fibrosis and by 100% (9/9) of patients with cirrhosis. The main reason for not achieving SVR12 in the 6-week group was viral relapse (11.9%; 7/59). One patient had on-treatment failure due to an early withdrawal (lost to follow-up due to incarceration). One patient with SVR12 in the 6-week group had a late viral relapse at post-treatment week 24. No clinically significant drug-drug interactions were observed. Adverse events were reported in 63.2% of patients (43/68) and were mainly grade 1/2. None of these led to treatment discontinuation. The 3 direct-acting antiviral regimens of simeprevir, daclatasvir and sofosbuvir were safe and well tolerated in treatment-naïve, HCV GT1-infected patients with early-stage fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis.

Simeprevir, daclatasvir and sofosbuvir for hepatitis C virus-infected patients with decompensated liver disease.

Approximately three million individuals in the United States are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Chronic HCV infection may lead to the development of compensated as well as decompensated liver cirrhosis. The Phase II IMPACT study was conducted in HCV genotype 1- or 4-infected cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension or decompensated liver disease and assessed for the first time the combination of the three direct-acting antivirals simeprevir, daclatasvir and sofosbuvir. Treatment-naïve or treatment-experienced adults with Child-Pugh (CP) score <7 (CP A) and evidence of portal hypertension, or CP score 7-9 (CP B), received 12 weeks of simeprevir 150 mg, daclatasvir 60 mg and sofosbuvir 400 mg, once daily. The primary efficacy endpoint was sustained virologic response 12 weeks after end of treatment (SVR12). Pharmacokinetics and safety were also assessed. Overall, 40 patients were enrolled (CP A: 19; CP B: 21). All 40 patients achieved SVR12. At week 8, the mean pharmacokinetic exposure to simeprevir, sofosbuvir, daclatasvir and GS-331007 (sofosbuvir metabolite) was 2.2-, 1.5-, 1.2- and 1.2-fold higher in patients with CP B than CP A, respectively. Grade 1/2 adverse events (AEs) occurred in 26 of 40 (65%) patients. One CP B patient had a Grade 3 AE (gastrointestinal haemorrhage), which was reported as a serious AE but not considered related to study drugs. Treatment for 12 weeks with simeprevir, daclatasvir and sofosbuvir was generally safe and well tolerated, and resulted in 100% of cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension or decompensated liver disease achieving SVR12.

In Vitro Antiviral Activity of some Novel Isatin Derivatives against HCV and SARS-CoV Viruses.

4-[(1,2-dihydro-2-oxo-3H-indol-3-ylidene)amino]-N(4,6-dimethyl-2-pyrimidiny)benzene sulphonamide and its derivatives were evaluated for antiviral activity against Pathogenic viruses such as Hepatitis C Virus and SARS-CoV in Vero and Huh 5-2 cells, respectively. The 5-fluoro derivative inhibited the HCV RNA synthesis at 6 mug/ml, without toxicity at a concentration up to 42 mug/ml in Huh 5-2 cells. Among the compounds tested SPIII-5F exhibits the 45% maximum protection against replication of SARS-CoV in Vero cells.

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist VNTR-polymorphism in inflammatory bowel disease.

Both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in the etiology of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) i.e., Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Polymorphisms in cytokine genes are likely to influence an individual's predisposition to IBD. In intron 2 of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) gene, a variable number of an 86-bp tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism leads to the existence of five different alleles. In order to analyze the association between certain IL-1ra VNTR-alleles and IBD, we investigated the IL-1ra genotype and allele frequencies in 342 unrelated IBD patients and in 401 healthy control individuals. CD patients were also genotyped for the three main associated variants in the NOD2/CARD15 gene. In the IBD group, a significant decrease in the frequency of IL-1ra allele 1 (P=0.048) compared to controls was observed. The frequency of IL-1ra genotype 1/1 was significantly lower in the IBD population vs the control group (P=0.018). Analysis of the CD population without NOD2 homozygotes and compound heterozygotes revealed a more significant decrease in IL-1ra genotype 1/1 compared to controls (P=0.038). These results support the hypothesis that the IL-1ra VNTR-polymorphism could be among the genetic factors that are of importance in IBD susceptibility.