U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved supplemental indications for Gilead Sciences’s Harvoni (ledipasvir 90 mg/sofosbuvir 400 mg) tablets and Sovaldi (sofosbuvir 400 mg) tablets for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in adolescents without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis, 12 years of age and older, or weighing at least 35kg.
Harvoni was approved for pediatric patients with genotype 1, 4, 5 or 6 chronic HCV infection. Sovaldi was approved for pediatric patients with genotype 2 or 3 chronic HCV infection, in combination with ribavirin. There are an estimated 23,000-46,000 pediatric HCV patients in the United States, most of whom were infected with the virus at birth, the company said in its press release.
“The approvals of Sovaldi and Harvoni for pediatric patients will enable adolescents to finally benefit from interferon-free treatment for HCV infection,” said Karen Murray, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children’s.
Norbert Bischofberger, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Gilead said: “For the first time, children 12 and older in the United States with genotypes 1 through 6 chronic HCV infection now have options of two direct-acting antiviral regimens that offer high cure rates while eliminating the need for interferon injections.”