HCV: Current Standard of Care and Emerging DAA Agents
HCV: Current Standard of Care and Emerging DAA Agents
Until recently, the lack of a suitable in vitro model of HCV replication has limited development of new drugs to treat chronic hepatitis C. Although the virus can infect and replicate in chimpanzees, use of non-human primates for drug development is limited by a number of factors including cost, housing and need for regular veterinary care. In 1999, Lohman et al. constructed an HCV replication system from genotype 1b RNA and the human hepatoma cell line Huh-7. Subsequently, a cloned HCV genome was developed that recapitulates the virus's full life cycle in cell culture and produces acute hepatitis C in chimpanzees. This has facilitated screening of large numbers of potential anti-HCV drugs and identification of a number of potential direct-acting antiviral (DAA) candidates. These agents target specific genomic pathways that can interfere with HCV infection and replication.
Direct-acting Antivirals in Development for HCV
Until recently, the lack of a suitable in vitro model of HCV replication has limited development of new drugs to treat chronic hepatitis C. Although the virus can infect and replicate in chimpanzees, use of non-human primates for drug development is limited by a number of factors including cost, housing and need for regular veterinary care. In 1999, Lohman et al. constructed an HCV replication system from genotype 1b RNA and the human hepatoma cell line Huh-7. Subsequently, a cloned HCV genome was developed that recapitulates the virus's full life cycle in cell culture and produces acute hepatitis C in chimpanzees. This has facilitated screening of large numbers of potential anti-HCV drugs and identification of a number of potential direct-acting antiviral (DAA) candidates. These agents target specific genomic pathways that can interfere with HCV infection and replication.
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