FDA approves AbbVie’s Mavyret for hepatitis C

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Mavyret (glecaprevir and pibrentasvir) to treat adults with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1-6 without cirrhosis or with mild cirrhosis, including patients with moderate to severe kidney disease and those who are on dialysis.

Mavyret is the first treatment of eight weeks duration approved for all HCV genotypes 1-6 in adult patients without cirrhosis who have not been previously treated. Standard treatment length was previously 12 weeks or more. Mavyret is also approved for adult patients with HCV genotype 1 infection who have been previously treated with a regimen either containing an NS5A inhibitor or an NS3/4A protease inhibitor but not both. 

The safety and efficacy of Mavyret were evaluated during clinical trials enrolling approximately 2,300 adults with genotype 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 HCV infection without cirrhosis or with mild cirrhosis. Results of the trials demonstrated that 92-100 percent of patients who received Mavyret for eight, 12 or 16 weeks duration had no virus detected in the blood 12 weeks after finishing treatment, suggesting that patients’ infection had been cured. 

There are at least six distinct HCV genotypes, or strains, which are genetically distinct groups of the virus. Knowing the strain of the virus can help inform treatment recommendations. Approximately 75 percent of Americans with HCV have genotype 1; 20-25 percent have genotypes 2 or 3, and a small number of patients are infected with genotypes 4, 5 or 6.

Treatment duration with Mavyret differs depending on treatment history, viral genotype, and cirrhosis status. The most common adverse reactions in patients taking Mavyret were headache, fatigue and nausea.