Chronic viral hepatitis C: innovations in therapy

On December 9-12, the IV International Infectious Diseases Forum was held at the Sechenov University Congress Center in Moscow. As part of the scientific program of the event, a satellite symposium with international participation «Treatment of patients with chronic viral hepatitis C: new opportunities and prospects» was held with the support of the ChemRar Group.

Due to the high incidence of the disease in the world, a long course with the development of severe complications in the form of cirrhosis of the liver, hepatocellular carcinoma, etc., as well as a significant economic burden on the budget of the patient and the state associated with long-term treatment and disability in working age, chronic viral hepatitis C (CVHC) remains an urgent public health problem.

In order to reduce the incidence, expand access to treatment for patients with CVI and create prerequisites for the elimination of viral hepatitis C in 2025, the federal project «Combating hepatitis C and minimizing the risks of spreading this disease» was launched within the framework of the national program «Long and active Life».

Opening the symposium, Chairman of the Presidium Vladimir Chulanov, MD, Professor, Chief Freelance Specialist in infectious Diseases of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Deputy Director for Research and Innovative Development of the Federal State Budgetary Institution «National Medical Research Center of Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, noted new opportunities in the treatment of CVI due to registration in December 2024 year in the Russian Federation of a direct antiviral pan-genotype drug (DPPD): Conesco® (ravidasvir) of the ChemRar Group.

In the first report «Prospects for the use of the domestic NS5A inhibitor Ravidasvir in the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis C» Olga Sagalova, MD, Professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Southern State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, noted that: «Conesco® has a strong evidence base based on the results of 16 clinical trials involving more than 2,300 participants conducted in various countries around the world.»

Professor Sagalova drew attention to the » advantages of the drug Conesco® (ravidasvir): high, meeting all the requirements, SVR12= 97%; low risk of drug interactions, especially in patients with HIV co-infection; preservation of efficacy in the presence of viruses with resistance mutations; convenience of administration (1 tablet 1 time a day) in combination with sofosbuvir.

The full production cycle in Russia, which is provided by ChemRar Group at its facilities-from the substance to the finished dosage form-guarantees the stability of supplies and technological sovereignty of the country in this area of healthcare.

The working program of the symposium was continued by Pavel O. Bogomolov, PhD, Professor, Chief Hepatologist of the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region, Head of the Department of Hepatology of the Moscow Region State Medical University named after M. F. Vladimirsky.

In the report» Practical aspects of application of Ravidasvir» The expert stressed that the achievement of the goals of the federal project to combat hepatitis C is facilitated by following strategic priorities, such as creating your own line of full-cycle drugs of domestic production, increasing the availability of therapy and optimizing costs, switching to simple treatment regimens: one tablet, high efficiency, minimum side effects.

International participant of the symposium, Muhammad Radzi Radzibin Abu Hassan, Director General of the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, delivered an online presentation on  «Approaches to the treatment of hepatitis C in Malaysia», focusing on the successful use of the innovative drug Сonesco® (ravidasvir) in combination with sofosbuvir.

Professor Radzi presented convincing data on the effectiveness of the combination of the drug Сonesco® with sofosbuvir:

• 97.5% of successful treatment cases in patients with genotype 3
• 96.8% overall sustained virological response rate (SVR12)

An important achievement was the approval in May 2025 of an 8-week course of therapy by the National regulator of Malaysia (NPRA) for patients without cirrhosis. Studies have shown that the effectiveness of the shortened course is not inferior to the traditional 12-week treatment.

Concluding the meeting, Chairman of the Presidium Vladimir Chulanov noted that the combination of the drug Сonesco® with sofosbuvir:

— it is highly effective in patients with CVI, including patients with compensated cirrhosis, Gt3, HIV co-infection and previous IFN-containing therapy;

— retains its effectiveness in the presence of common mutations of drug resistance;

— represents a pangenotypic scheme without ribavirin;

— highly effective for genotype 3 (SVR12 97.6%), including compensated cirrhosis (SVR 96%);

— has a favorable safety profile and good tolerability, low risk межлекарственныхof drug interactions, which ensures high patient adherence to this type of antiviral therapy.

CONESCO® of the ChemRar Group of Companies is a powerful new-generation pan-genotypic drug with direct antiviral action, an NS5A protein inhibitor.

The ChemRar Group unites research and production organizations in the field of development of innovative medicines, diagnostic tools, prevention and new methods of treatment of life-threatening diseases in Russia and abroad.

ChemRar Group has all the necessary competencies and a unique integrated technology platform for developing innovative and modern high-quality medicines in a full cycle, starting from the early stages of molecular search, conducting preclinical and clinical studies to registering and launching a drug on the market.