Viral resistance in hepatitis C virus genotype 1-infected patients receiving the NS3 protease inhibitor Faldaprevir (BI 201335) in a phase 1b multiple-rising-dose study

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2013 Oct;57(10):4928-36. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00822-13. Epub 2013 Jul 22.

Abstract

Faldaprevir (BI 201335) is a selective NS3/4A protease inhibitor under development for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. NS3/4A genotyping and NS3 protease phenotyping analyses were performed to monitor the emergence of resistance in patients with HCV genotype 1 infection receiving faldaprevir alone or combined with pegylated interferon alfa 2a and ribavirin (PegIFN-RBV) during a phase 1b study. Among all baseline variants, a maximum 7-fold reduction in in vitro sensitivity to faldaprevir was observed for a rare NS3 (V/I)170T polymorphism. During faldaprevir monotherapy in treatment-naive patients, virologic breakthrough was common (77%, 20/26) and was associated with the emergence of resistance mutations predominantly carrying NS3 substitutions R155K in GT1a and D168V in GT1b. D168V conferred a greater reduction in faldaprevir sensitivity (1,800-fold) than R155K (330-fold); however, D168V was generally less fit than R155K in the absence of selective drug pressure. Treatment-experienced patients treated with faldaprevir-PegIFN-RBV triple therapy showed higher viral load reductions, lower rates of breakthrough (8%, 5/62), and less frequent emergence of resistance-associated variants compared with faldaprevir monotherapy. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT00793793.).

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Aminoisobutyric Acids
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Cell Line
  • Genotype
  • Genotyping Techniques / methods
  • Hepacivirus / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Leucine / analogs & derivatives
  • Oligopeptides / therapeutic use*
  • Proline / analogs & derivatives
  • Protease Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Quinolines
  • Thiazoles / therapeutic use*
  • Viral Nonstructural Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors

Substances

  • Aminoisobutyric Acids
  • Antiviral Agents
  • NS3 protein, hepatitis C virus
  • Oligopeptides
  • Protease Inhibitors
  • Quinolines
  • Thiazoles
  • Viral Nonstructural Proteins
  • faldaprevir
  • Proline
  • Leucine

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00793793