Elbasvir / Grazoprevir Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Feb 15, 2025.

Applies to elbasvir / grazoprevir: oral tablet.

Precautions

It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine is working properly. Blood tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

Using this medicine together with ribavirin while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. Birth defects may occur if the father is using this medicine when his sexual partner becomes pregnant. If a pregnancy occurs while you are using this medicine, tell your doctor right away.

Do not use the following medicines while you are using Zepatier®: cyclosporine (Gengraf®, Neoral®, Sandimmune®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rimactane®), St. John's wort, medicine to treat HIV infection (including atazanavir, darunavir, efavirenz, lopinavir, saquinavir, tipranavir, Invirase®, Kaletra®, Reyataz®, Sustiva®), or medicine to treat seizures (including carbamazepine, phenytoin, Dilantin®, Tegretol®).

Check with your doctor right away if you are weak or tired, have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Other side effects

Some side effects of elbasvir / grazoprevir may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

Serious side effects

Along with its needed effects, elbasvir / grazoprevir may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking elbasvir / grazoprevir:

For healthcare professionals

Applies to elbasvir / grazoprevir: oral tablet.

General adverse events

In clinical trials, the safety of this drug (with or without ribavirin) was assessed in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with compensated liver disease (with or without cirrhosis). Clinical trials included therapy-naive and therapy-experienced (peginterferon alfa/ribavirin-experienced, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin/HCV protease inhibitor-experienced) patients, with and without HCV/HIV-coinfection; at least 1 clinical trial included patients with severe renal dysfunction, including those on hemodialysis. The most common side effects reported with this drug were fatigue and headache.

If this drug is used with ribavirin, the manufacturer product information for ribavirin should be consulted for associated side effects.^[Ref]

Other

• Very common (10% or more): Fatigue (up to 25%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Asthenia^[Ref]

Nervous system

• Very common (10% or more): Headache (up to 17%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Dizziness^[Ref]

Hematologic

• Very common (10% or more): Anemia (up to 16%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Decreased hemoglobin
• Frequency not reported: CD4+ T-cell counts increased, CD4+ T-cell counts decreased^[Ref]

The change from baseline in hemoglobin (Hgb) levels averaged about -2.2 g/dL in patients using this drug with ribavirin for 16 weeks and -0.3 g/dL in patients using this drug alone for 12 weeks. Hgb level decreased during the first 8 weeks of therapy, stayed low during the remainder of therapy, and normalized to baseline levels during follow-up. Less than 1% of patients using this drug with ribavirin had Hgb levels decrease to less than 8.5 g/dL during therapy; no patients using this drug alone had Hgb levels less than 8.5 g/dL.

In therapy-naive and therapy-experienced HCV/HIV-coinfected patients treated with this drug alone for 12 weeks, increase of CD4+ T-cell counts (of about 31 and 32 cells/mm3, respectively) was observed at the end of therapy. In therapy-experienced HCV/HIV-coinfected patients treated with this drug with ribavirin for 16 weeks, CD4+ T-cell counts decreased about 135 cells/mm3 by the end of therapy.^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

• Very common (10% or more): Nausea (up to 12%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Diarrhea, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, vomiting, constipation, upper abdominal pain, dry mouth^[Ref]

Dermatologic

• Common (1% to 10%): Pruritus, alopecia, rash
• Postmarketing reports: Angioedema^[Ref]

Hepatic

• Common (1% to 10%): Elevated bilirubin
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Elevated ALT
• Postmarketing reports: Hepatic decompensation, hepatic failure^[Ref]

During clinical trials with this drug (with or without ribavirin), regardless of duration of therapy, elevated bilirubin (greater than 2.5 x ULN) was reported in 6% and less than 1% of patients using this drug with ribavirin and alone, respectively. These increases were primarily indirect and generally associated with ribavirin coadministration. Elevated bilirubin was usually not associated with elevated serum ALT.

Based on pooled data in patients using this drug without ribavirin for 12 weeks, ALT of 5.1 to 10 x ULN, ALT of greater than 10 x ULN, total bilirubin of 2.6 to 5 x ULN, and total bilirubin of greater than 5 x ULN were reported in 0.7%, 0.7%, 0.4%, and 0% of patients, respectively.

During clinical trials with this drug (with or without ribavirin), regardless of duration of therapy, ALT in 13 of 1690 patients increased from normal levels to greater than 5 times the upper limit of normal (5 x ULN), usually at or after 8 weeks of therapy (mean onset: 10 weeks; range: 6 to 12 weeks). These late ALT elevations were generally asymptomatic and most resolved with continued use or after completion of therapy. Late ALT elevations occurred more often in patients with higher grazoprevir plasma levels (e.g., female, Asian, age at least 65 years). Incidence of late ALT elevations was not affected by duration of therapy and cirrhosis was not a risk factor. Less than 1% of patients treated with this drug (with or without ribavirin) had ALT elevations greater than 2.5 to 5 x ULN during therapy; therapy was not discontinued in these patients.^[Ref]

Musculoskeletal

• Common (1% to 10%): Arthralgia, myalgia^[Ref]

Psychiatric

• Common (1% to 10%): Insomnia, depression, irritability, anxiety^[Ref]

Respiratory

• Common (1% to 10%): Dyspnea, exertional dyspnea^[Ref]

Metabolic

• Common (1% to 10%): Decreased appetite

See also:

Frequently asked questions

• What are the new drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C?

Further information

Elbasvir/grazoprevir side effects can vary depending on the individual. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Note: Medication side effects may be underreported. If you are experiencing side effects that are not listed, submit a report to the FDA by following this guide.

Medical Disclaimer