Specific targeted antiviral therapy for hepatitis C.

Since the discovery of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) as the major cause of non-A, non-B hepatitis in 1989, the search for specific targeted antiviral therapy for HCV (STAT-C) has been underway. Recently, major advances in the understanding of HCV biology and the development of an in vitro system of HCV replication have contributed to the selection of multiple candidate drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C. In 2006, five such candidate drugs have entered phase II clinical trials in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C, including small molecule inhibitors of the HCV NS3 serine protease and NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. This review focuses on hepatitis C protease and polymerase inhibitors that have progressed to phase II clinical development, foreshadowing the era of STAT-Cs.