Daclatasvir as a hepatitis C infection treatment option: an up-to-date evaluation.

INTRODUCTION

Globally, it is estimated that 290,000 patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) died from hepatitis C consequences, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in 2019. Although daclatasvir (DCV), combined with sofosbuvir (SOF), is effective in HCV patients, the new pan-genotypic combinations are considered by many as more cost-effective and successful in eradicating HCV infection.

AREAS COVERED: This review discusses the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of DCV as an HCV treatment option based on real-world studies and pharmacoeconomic evaluations.

EXPERT OPINION: Real-life studies suggest that SOF/DCV has acceptable sustained virological response and can be used successfully to manage HCV. Nonetheless, the use of SOF/DCV is limited by the longer treatment duration in genotype (GT)-3 patients and the need for ribavirin (RBV) in treatment-experienced patients which increases the likelihood of adverse effects. DCV is likely to remain as a therapeutic option for the management of GT-1, GT-2, and GT-4 patients in resource limited settings, while GT-3 patients are more likely to benefit from RBV-free direct-acting antiviral combinations such as SOF/velpatasvir for 12 weeks or glecaprevir/pibrentasvir for 8 weeks. The introduction of generics for these new pan-genotypic drugs would likely eliminate the need for SOF/DCV in the near future.