ABT-450, a New Regimen for Treating Hepatitis C Virus

ABT-450, a New Regimen for Treating Hepatitis C Virus

On April 12, 2014, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published the results of a study on the effectiveness of ABT-450/r, a new drug combination to treat patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The study, which was funded by pharmaceutical manufacturer AbbVie, was presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in London on April 9-13, 2014.

According to the NEJM, “184 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, and more than 350,000 people die of HCV-related liver disease each year.”

Adverse effects of ABT-450 most commonly were fatigue and headache. Researchers found that ABT-459 cured more than 95 percent of the patients infected with hepatitis C. ABT-450 is in pill form and takes just three 3 months to work. As of June 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had granted priority review to AbbVie's all-oral regimen for the treatment of adult patients with HCV infection, setting up possible approval before the end of the year.