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Hepatitis C in 2012

On the fast track towards IFN-free therapy for hepatitis C?

With the first HCV protease inhibitors approved in 2011, we are currently in a transition phase towards a shift in treatment paradigm. Within the next 3 years, the vast majority of patients with hepatitis C will probably be treated with completely different drugs in most Western countries.

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Figure 1: IFN-free combination therapies of direct-acting antivirals against hepatitis C that are currently under investigation (including previously tested IFN-free combinations).

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the support of a grant from the German Center for Infectious Diseases (DZIF). The author thanks Drs Benjamin Maasoumy and Svenja Hardtke for editorial assistance.

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H. Wedemeyer has received research grant and/or honoraria for consulting or speaking from Abbott, Biolex, BMS, Gilead, ITS, JJ/Janssen-Cilag, Merck/Schering-Plough, Novartis, Roche, Roche Diagnostics, Siemens, Transgene and ViiV.

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Wedemeyer, H. On the fast track towards IFN-free therapy for hepatitis C?. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 10, 76–78 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2012.247

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