HCV elimination in active PWID: SOF/VEL as a simple tool to implement a test and treat approach in this vulnerable population

Background: The treatment of high priority populations, including patients actively using intravenous drugs (active PWID), must be prioritized to accomplish the WHO HCV elimination goals by 2030 Simplification of the treatment cascade is key to reaching this goal, even more so in the COVID-19 era Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) is a protease inhibitor-free, pangenotypic, panfibrotic, single duration, single tablet regimen, to be taken without regards to food and with limited drug-drug interactions This real-world analysis evaluates SOF/VEL as a simple strategy to implement a testand- treat approach in HCV-infected active PWID Methods: Adult active PWID treated for HCV with 12 weeks SOF/VEL in different clinical settings were included from 25 cohorts in 6 countries Patients with a history of decompensation or prior NS5A-inhibitor exposure were excluded The endpoints were HCV cure (undetectable HCV RNA ≥12 after the end of therapy, SVR12) and time-to-treatment (TT) between most recent HCV RNA measurement and SOF/VEL treatment start Results: Analysis included 340 patients, mean age 44±10years, 84% male, 15% compensated cirrhotic (CC) and 8% treatment-experienced, with 43% genotype (GT) 1 and 41% GT3 73% of patients were diagnosed with a mental disorder, 27% were homeless and 21% incarcerated Of patients with TT available (n=334), 10% were treated the same day of diagnosis, 16% within 1 week, 39% within 1 month, and 69% within 3 months Treatment adherence below 90% was observed in 24 patients (8%) SVR12 is available for 254 patients (75%), as non-virological or unknown cause of failure was documented in 86 patients (25%), 79% due to lost-to-follow-up (LTFU) SVR12 was 98% overall (249/254), 98% (80/82) in non-cirrhotic and 95% (20/21) in CC patients Active PWID with mental disorders showed 97% SVR12 (181/186) Of active PWID with GT3 infection, 96% (104/180) were cured, including 95% (20/21) of those with CC Of 31 patients starting treatment within 1 week of diagnosis, all achieved SVR12 compared to 126/129 (98%) starting within 3 months of diagnosis Conclusion: SOF/VEL is a simple HCV treatment resulting in high cure rates in active PWID, including patients with multiple complicating factors LTFU remains a challenge in this population The simplicity of the SOF/VEL approach allowing for shortening of the patient care cascade and rapid treatment starts with high cure rates may help address this important issue