Phase II data from AASLD
suggest that, unlike the first wave of interferon-free HCV regimens, the second
generation has real promise. As a result, the new standard of care brought
about by the approval of two HCV protease inhibitors this year is likely to be
supplanted fairly quickly by a variety of regimens geared to very specific
patient populations and virus subtypes.
At last week's meeting of the American
Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in San Francisco, one of
the biggest questions was how many oral compounds given for how long could
allow patients to avoid the need for peg-interferon.