The 34th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) conference 2025 was held in Beijing under the theme «Multidisciplinary Collaboration For Elimination & Cure». During the plenary session, Emilia Krasavina, Medical Adviser to the Medical Directorate of R-Pharm, discussed the treatment of chronic hepatitis C using narlaprevir, the company’s proprietary drug, in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
«Globally, an estimated 50 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, according to the World Health Organization. Around 45% of people diagnosed with HIV also carry the hepatitis C virus. This group of patients are more likely to develop end-stage liver disease, and mortality rates are higher», — Emilia Krasavina states.
A large-scale observational study of the efficacy, safety and tolerability of treatment with narelaprevir and ritonavir in combination therapy of hepatitis C in patients with concomitant HIV infection treated with antiretroviral drugs in real clinical practice is being conducted at more than 20 clinical centers in eight federal districts of Russia. The study found a hepatitis C cure rate of 95% with the combination of narlaprevir/ritonavir and sofosbuvir, meeting global treatment standards.
«At APASL 2025, leading experts emphasized the critical need for timely diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C in individuals living with HIV. Our involvement in implementing effective therapeutic solutions in this area contributes to achieving global health goals. We align with the World Health Organization’s strategy to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030 and are actively supporting Russia’s national program aimed at reducing hepatitis C incidence, part of national goal „Maintaining the Population and their Health and Well-Being”», — said Elena Poretskova, Director of the Virology Department at R-Pharm.
Narlaprevir (TN Arlansa®), an NS3 serine protease inhibitor, was developed by R-Pharm as a treatment for viral hepatitis C and is recognized as Russia’s first domestic direct-acting antiviral for this condition. It is included in the clinical recommendations by the Russian Ministry of Health for «Chronic Hepatitis C» and included in Vital and Essential Drugs (VED) list.
