Daclatasvir–sofosbuvir combination therapy with or without ribavirin for hepatitis C virus infection: from the clinical trials to real life

The treatment of hepatitis C virus has changed dramatically with the rapid advent of numerous new antiviral agents, including direct-acting antivirals and agents with non-viral targets (cyclophilin inhibitors, interferon-lambda, vaccine therapy). Given the better safety profile and high antiviral potency of direct-acting antivirals, their combination in interferon-free oral regimens is becoming the standard of care for hepatitis C virus infection, tailored to individual patients according to the degree of disease progression (fibrosis), hepatitis C virus genotype and subtype, resistance profile, and prior therapeutic history. Results from clinical studies as well as preliminary real-life data regarding the combination of sofosbuvir (a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor) and daclatasvir, a first-in-class NS5A replication complex inhibitor, demonstrate that it is one of the most promising antiviral therapies, with once-daily oral dosing, a low pill burden, good tolerability, and limited drug–drug interactions, in addition to high antiviral potency, with >90% sustained virologic response rates. This combination has high pangenotypic antiviral potency regardless of the severity and patient characteristics. The combination of sofosbuvir and an NS5A inhibitor with ribavirin for 12 weeks appears to be a very good further treatment option in both cirrhotic and treatment-experienced patients whatever the stage of fibrosis.