Author information
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
2Texas Liver Institute, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78215, USA.
3Southern Therapy and Advanced Research LLC, Jackson, MS 39216, USA.
4Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, UT 84107, USA.
5Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98101, USA.
6Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
7Bon Secours Mercy Health, Liver Institute of Virginia, Richmond, VA 23226, USA.
8Tampa General Medical Group, Tampa, FL 33609, USA.
9Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
10Digestive Disease Associates, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA.
11Gilead Sciences, Inc., Foster City, CA 94404, USA.
12Centre Hépatobiliaire, Hôpital Paul-Brousse, Inserm Research Unit 1193, Université Paris-Saclay, 94800 Villejuif, France.
Abstract
A fixed-dose combination of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) plus weight-based ribavirin (RBV) for 12 weeks is recommended for the treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated decompensated cirrhosis. However, large global studies, while confirming the effectiveness of SOF/VEL in a broad range of patients, often exclude these patients. This Phase 2, single-arm, open-label study in adult patients with HCV-associated decompensated cirrhosis in France and the USA aimed to provide further data on the safety and efficacy of SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks in this population. Patients were treated with a fixed-dose combination of SOF 400 mg/VEL 100 mg plus weight-based RBV once daily for 12 weeks. The inclusion criteria were chronic HCV infection (≥6 months), quantifiable HCV RNA at screening, Child-Turcotte-Pugh class B or C cirrhosis, and liver imaging within 6 months of Day 1 to exclude hepatocellular carcinoma. Among 32 patients who initiated treatment, 78.1% achieved sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR12). Failure to achieve SVR12 was due to non-virologic reasons (investigator discretion, n = 1; death, n = 6). All 25 patients in the per-protocol population achieved SVR12 and all but one achieved sustained virologic response 24 weeks after the end of treatment. Adverse events (AEs) were as expected for a patient population with advanced liver disease. All Grade 3-4 and serious AEs and deaths were deemed unrelated to treatment. In patients with HCV-associated decompensated cirrhosis, SOF/VEL plus RBV achieved high SVR12 rates and was generally well tolerated.