US researchers have found that a common allergy drug may be useful in treating hepatitis C, the chronic liver infection. Around 185 million people worldwide suffer from hepatitis C, which can lead to cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. The currently existing drugs against Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), like Sovaldi, are expensive, have some side effects and are associated with drug resistance. They do not reach the populations that are most in need of treatment.
Researchers think that antihistamine, a cheap allergy drug that is taken for coughing, sneezing and runny nose, could be the answer. They found that the antihistamine chlorcyclizine HCI, also known as CCZ, blocks hepatitis C infection by preventing the virus from entering human liver cells. Research using lab mice that carried human liver cells showed that the drug could block the virus and did not lead to drug resistance. The drug also worked well with other hepatitis C drugs to make those treatments more effective.
There are other FDA-approved drugs like anti-cancer drugs erlotinib and dasatinib; the cholesterol drug ezetimibe; and the anti-malaria treatment ferroquine that have previously been shown to be useful for clinical treatment of hepatitis C. However, the antihistamine showed an even more compelling in vitro and in vivo activity against HCV infection than these drugs.
Another compelling reason for the use of CCZ is that while the recent antiviral treatments that can cure hepatitis C, costs at least an $8,000 per four-month regimen, chlorcyclizine HCI, costs only about 50 cents per pill.
Since it already has an established clinical safety profile, researchers have called for clinical studies to see how it works against hepatitis C in people. However, it should not be used to treat hepatitis C until it has been demonstrated that CCZ can be used safely and effectively for that purpose.
The study has been published in the journal, Science Translational Medicine. The author Dr.Jake Liang, senior investigator at National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, says that for further research and development, they will look into optimizing the drug for testing in people, perhaps by modifying it to make it more active, minimize its antihistamine effect, and improve its pharmacological properties.
