Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C may benefit from Victrelis (Merck) but extent unclear

Some patients with Chronic Hepatitis C may benefit from Victrelis (boceprevir), from Merck, though the extent of added benefit is still unclear. The information comes from an early benefit assessment by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). With the available studies on patients without cirrhosis, it is not possible to assess directly whether the combination of peginterferon alfa and ribavirin (the standard therapy) with Victrelis, given in a triple combination, influences secondary diseases, such as the development of liver cancer. With respect to sustained virological response (SVR), there was a clear advantage for Victrelis, both for pretreated patients and for non-pretreated patients without liver cirrhosis. The Institute accepts SVR in the context of the assessment as a surrogate for the reduced incidence of liver cancer. This is because it is currently accepted that patients with no detectable hepatitis C virus in the blood are at lower risk of liver cancer. However, it is unclear how many cases of liver cancer can in fact be prevented by Victrelis. So the scientific data do not permit a conclusive assessment of the number of patients in whom Liver Cancer is actually prevented.