Victrelis™ (boceprevir) and Hepatitis C

Does the dosage and administration of Victrelis (boceprevir) differ for various people?

UPDATE: As of January 2015 Merck announced it will discontinue selling Victrelis in the United States by the end of the year.

Yes, the dosage and administration will differ for various groups, however, in all cases Victrelis™ must be administered with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin. In the prescribing information provided by Merck, they indicate the following groups and dosage and administration information:

For patients that do not have cirrhosis and who were previously untreated OR who are previous partial responders OR relapsers to interferon and ribavirin therapy:

• Begin peginterferon alfa and ribavirin therapy and continue for 4 weeks.
• After 4 weeks, 800 mg of Victrelis™ (four 200 mg capsules) administered three times daily (approximately every 7-9 hours) would be added to the peginterferon alfa and ribavirin regimen.
• Depending on HCV-RNA levels at week 8, week 12 and week 24 of treatment the following would take place:
  • For patients that were previously untreated and HCV-RNA results are undetectable at week 8 and undetectable at week 24, then the patient would continue with all three medications through to week 28.
  • For patients that were previously untreated and HCV-RNA results are detectable at week 8, but undetectable at week 24 would continue all three medications through to week 36 then peginterferon alfa and ribavirin would be administered through week 48.
  • For patients that were previous partial responders or previously relapsed and HCV-RNA results are undetectable at week 8 and undetectable at week 24, then the patient would continue with all three medications through to week 36.
  • For patients that were previous partial responders or previously relapsed and HCV-RNA results are detectable at week 8, but undetectable at week 24, would continue all three medications through to week 36 then peginterferon alfa and ribavirin would be administered through week 48.
• However, if HCV-RNA results at week 12 are greater than or equal to 100 IU/mL, then the three medications should be discontinued. Also, all three medications should be discontinued if there are confirmed detectable HCV-RNA levels at week 24 of therapy.
• Additional information and considerations are available at Merck’s website www.merck.com and should be discussed with the patient’s physician.

For patients with compensated cirrhosis:

• Begin peginterferon alfa and ribavirin therapy and continue for 4 weeks
• After 4 weeks, 800 mg of Victrelis™ (four 200 mg capsules) administered three times daily (approximately every 7-9 hours) would be added to the peginterferon alfa and ribavirin regimen for 44 weeks.

Last Updated: January 2015