Results of a study conducted by Pharmasset while Robert Hindes, MD was Vice President for clinical development, and co-authored by Robert Hindes, MD, in the New England Journal of Medicine details the role of sofosbuvir and ribavirin in treating patients with hepatitis C. Until now, physicians treated patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) by administering interferon based regimens. The investigators examined the combination therapy as one of the first of many studies exploring interferon-free therapies.
The paper reports data from eight patient groups. Forty of the participants were assigned randomly into four groups, each given 400 milligrams of sofosbuvir once daily in addition to ribavirin for three months. Three of the four groups were also given peginterferon alfa-2a. Complementing the above-outlined groups, another two groups received sofosbuvir alone or sofosbuvir, ribavirin, and peginterferon alfa-2a for roughly two months. Other patients were given ribavirin and sofosbuvir for 12 weeks.
Robert Hindes, MD, and his peers concluded that sofosbuvir in conjunction with ribavirin, and without interferon, was an effective treatment in HCV patients with infections ranging in genotype from 1 to 3. Two major drug companies funded the study.
The paper reports data from eight patient groups. Forty of the participants were assigned randomly into four groups, each given 400 milligrams of sofosbuvir once daily in addition to ribavirin for three months. Three of the four groups were also given peginterferon alfa-2a. Complementing the above-outlined groups, another two groups received sofosbuvir alone or sofosbuvir, ribavirin, and peginterferon alfa-2a for roughly two months. Other patients were given ribavirin and sofosbuvir for 12 weeks.
Robert Hindes, MD, and his peers concluded that sofosbuvir in conjunction with ribavirin, and without interferon, was an effective treatment in HCV patients with infections ranging in genotype from 1 to 3. Two major drug companies funded the study.