The combination of Sovaldi (Sofosbuvir) and Daklinza (Daclatasvir) was the world’s first pan-genotypic Hepatitis C treatment. In the USA and Europe the $140,000 price tag of this combination means it has seen relatively little use, but in the world of generics it has seen extensive use because Daclatasvir is much cheaper to produce than either Ledipasvir (in Harvoni) or Velpatasvir (in Epclusa) so it provides the least expensive treatment option.
Ok, so it’s more affordable, but is it as good as either Epclusa or Maviret? These are the new kids on the block, they are more expensive, so surely they are newer and must be better? Not really…
Abbvie conducted a trial called ENDURANCE-3 which demonstrated that Maviret – Glecaprevir + Pibrentasvir – (G/P) is “non-inferior” to the combination of Sofosbuvir + Daclatasvir (SOF/DCV). What is “non-inferior”? Well SOF/DCV achieved 97% SVR and G/P achieved 95% SVR12 in the difficult to treat GT3 population. Maviret is “non-inferior” is one way of phrasing it. SOF/DCV is “slightly superior” would be another way although this is not statistically significant.
Our REDEMPTION trials put the results for generic SOF/DCV in the range 93% (for GT3) to 100% (for GT2, GT5 and GT6) with 97% in GT1 and 95% in GT4 and are based on the results of over 1000 patients.
Published two days ago we have Generic daclatasvir plus sofosbuvir, with or without ribavirin, in treatment of chronic hepatitis C: real-world results from 18 378 patients in Egypt – where the overall results were 95.1%
So there you have it. We have 3 pan-genotypic options. They are all good, and all hit ~95%+ cure. Two are newer, more expensive, and have far less real-world proof. Strip off the marketing hype and if you were looking towards mass scale treatment SOF/DCV looks like the go-to medication because you can get the same cure rates for less cost, at least when using generics.
