Emerging therapies for the treatment of hepatitis C

Opportunities to treat infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are evolving rapidly. From the introduction of interferon‐α monotherapy in 1992 to the approval of telaprevir‐ and boceprevir‐based triple therapies with pegylated interferon‐α and ribavirin in 2011, the chances of curing patients infected with HCV genotype 1 have improved from <10% to approximately 70%. Significant further improvements are on the horizon, which may well cure virtually all hepatitis C patients with an all‐oral, interferon‐free regimen in the very near future. These exciting developments are reviewed in the present article.