Emerging therapies for the treatment of hepatitis C

Opportunities to treat infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are evolving rapidly. From the introduction of interferon-alpha monotherapy in 1992 to the approval of telaprevir- and boceprevir-based triple therapies with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin in 2011, the chances of curing patients infected with HCV genotype 1 have improved from <10% to approximately 70%. Significant further improvements are on the horizon, which may well cure virtually all hepatitis C patients with an all-oral, interferon-free regimen in the very near future. These exciting developments are reviewed in the present article.