Gilead Sciences is in the process of evaluating its approved hepatitis C drug Sovaldi used in combination with the experimental NS5A inhibitor velpatasvir, according to a Medscape report.
The once-daily, fixed dose combination of drugs is showing promise for treating all forms of hepatitis C. Gilead is testing the treatment in four late-stage studies.
Three trials involved 1,053 patients treated with the drug for 12 weeks. Of these patients, 98 percent were cured, according to the report. The fourth trial involved patients with more advanced forms of HCV. In this trial, Gilead's combination drug resulted in higher cure rates than ribavirin.