Promising new Hepatitis C drugs in development
29 June 2011
MRC-funded scientists have moved a step closer to developing drugs that could stop the deadly virus hepatitis C in its tracks. Researchers at Leeds University have uncovered details of how two prototype drugs – called p7-inhibitors – attack different parts of the hepatitis C virus, by targeting a protein that allows the virus to continue spreading. The study suggests these drugs could help to suppress Hepatitis C, when used together with other new direct-acting drugs.
More than 170 million people – 3% of the world’s population – are infected with the hepatitis C virus. The virus causes severe liver disease and is a leading cause of liver-related deaths, organ transplants and liver cancer. At the moment, patients are typically treated with drugs that work by boosting the immune system; PEGylated interferon alpha (IFN) and ribavirin (Rib). However, the effects of these drugs can depend on the individual patient’s genetic make-up. Hepatitis C is often resistant to the therapy and fails to suppress the virus for long enough. The treatment is also expensive and can trigger unpleasant side effects.
Dr Stephen Griffin, a MRC New Investigator Research Grant holder at the University of Leeds who lead the team, said:
“Hepatitis C has always been an extremely difficult condition to treat effectively because the virus evolves so quickly and develops resistance to drugs that are used to treat it. This new class of small molecule drugs, the p7 inhibitors, attack the virus directly. By learning how the hepatitis C virus reacts to these molecules, we can design drugs that are likely to be more effective for longer. We can also see how such drugs could be used together with other direct-acting drugs that target alternative viral targets, rather than individually or with IFN and Rib.”
Professor Massimo Palmarini, Director of the MRC and University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research said:
“The MRC invests in the highest quality research that makes a real difference to peoples’ lives. We look to speed up the journey between scientific discoveries at the laboratory bench to effective treatments for patients. By getting under the skin of a disease like Hep C and really understanding its weaknesses at a molecular level we can offer the best hope for effective future treatments.”
The study was published in the journal Hepatology. Additional funding came from Yorkshire Cancer Research and the University of Leeds Biomedical and Health Research Centre.
