Boceprevir in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global public health problem. The current standard-of-care treatment is effective in about 40%-50% of the cases, and the infection progresses to end-stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure in a considerable number of infected individuals. After end-stage liver disease is established, the only reliable therapeutic intervention is liver transplantation. The urgent need for new, effective therapies is now focused on specific inhibitors of viral enzymes, among which inhibitors of the viral NS3/4A serine protease and NS5b RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are the most advanced in clinical development. In particular, telaprevir and boceprevir have entered several Phase III clinical trials after promising Phase II results. This review summarizes the preclinical and clinical development of boceprevir, one of the most important HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitors, and the eventual impact of this new inhibitor class for future HCV therapies © 2011 Berenguer and Lo ́pez-Labrador, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd.