Here is a look back at this weeks headlines, including today's news with updates as the day progresses.
May 23
Alternative Medicine
3 things people get completely wrong about vitamin supplements
One myth I hear often is that natural substances can’t possibly be harmful. Clearly excess can be dangerous, but natural substances can also carry risks even in moderate doses. For example, kava, often used as a sleep aid or to reduce anxiety, has been linked to
liver toxicity
Covered California Votes To Cap What Patients Pay For Pricey Drugs
Retired California school teacher Mikkel Lawrence sits with his cat, Max. Lawrence has hepatitis C and has struggled to afford the medicine he needs to treat it.
May 22
How hepatitis C treatment is a glimpse of health care’s future
What are the implications for Medicare? Who will get the drug and who pays the bills?
HCV Video-Hot Topics
Old-Line Drugs: Hepatitis C
Will there still be a role for ribavirin and pegylated interferon-alfa?
Length of Treatment: Hepatitis C
Some treatments are eight weeks with one or two pills a day. Can it get shorter/easier?
When to Treat: Hepatitis C
Should all patients be treated as soon as possible or is it useful to wait in some /many/most cases?
Chris McGuigan: driving drug development
There has been debate about the cost of medicines to treat hepatitis C. Do you think they are priced excessively?
Sofosbuvir is certainly aggressively priced. Hepatitis C is difficult to treat and the natural outcome of the disease in many cases is a liver transplant, which is expensive in itself and impractical for all 180 million people worldwide with the disease. Previous therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin didn’t work in all the serotypes, side effects were a problem and compliance was rather low. Protease inhibitors weren’t a panacea, so people looked for polymerase inhibitors. Sofosbuvir was the first and it’s a good drug – well tolerated and curative in many cases. Gilead did pay US$11bn for Pharmasset to get this one drug and it’s fair to think they should be compensated for bringing such an innovative drug through.
Is it fairly priced? That’s beyond my pay grade, but hopefully Gilead will follow the lead of other pharmaceutical companies with HIV drugs in reducing prices in poorer countries. In any case it’s vital that pharmaceutical innovation is adequately rewarded.
HCV Video-Hot Topics
Old-Line Drugs: Hepatitis C
Will there still be a role for ribavirin and pegylated interferon-alfa?
Length of Treatment: Hepatitis C
Some treatments are eight weeks with one or two pills a day. Can it get shorter/easier?
When to Treat: Hepatitis C
Should all patients be treated as soon as possible or is it useful to wait in some /many/most cases?
Chris McGuigan: driving drug development
There has been debate about the cost of medicines to treat hepatitis C. Do you think they are priced excessively?
Sofosbuvir is certainly aggressively priced. Hepatitis C is difficult to treat and the natural outcome of the disease in many cases is a liver transplant, which is expensive in itself and impractical for all 180 million people worldwide with the disease. Previous therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin didn’t work in all the serotypes, side effects were a problem and compliance was rather low. Protease inhibitors weren’t a panacea, so people looked for polymerase inhibitors. Sofosbuvir was the first and it’s a good drug – well tolerated and curative in many cases. Gilead did pay US$11bn for Pharmasset to get this one drug and it’s fair to think they should be compensated for bringing such an innovative drug through.
Is it fairly priced? That’s beyond my pay grade, but hopefully Gilead will follow the lead of other pharmaceutical companies with HIV drugs in reducing prices in poorer countries. In any case it’s vital that pharmaceutical innovation is adequately rewarded.
Europe unaware of the hepatitis crisis, say patient organisations
Hep C med imports- Risky and potentially illegal
Full Text - PDF
Hep C med imports- Risky and potentially illegal
Full Text - PDF
Long-term treatment outcomes of patients infected with Hepatitis C virus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the survival benefit of achieving a Sustained Virological Response
NHS England accused of interference over hepatitis C drug
Officials at NHS England have been accused of interfering in a process to decide whether a drug which can cure Hepatitis C should be made available to patients on the health service
Hepatitis C: Weighing the Price of a Cure
A new class of drugs has proven to be an exceptional clinical success, but it's their equally striking costs that are garnering more attention.
BEST OF EASL
Watch Expert Perspectives: Best of HCV from EASL 2015
CDC Hepatitis C section Under Fire - "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: protecting the private good?"
Helping doctors predict what's next for patients diagnosed with Hepatitis C
Cures for other viruses may follow Hep C
Working on the Hep C virus since 1987, Dr Lopez-Talavera believed at the time that researchers like himself would never be able to cure Hep C without interferon, and that one year of therapy would always be needed. “But as much as I knew, I didn’t know much. And I keep learning, learning more about the virus,” he said.
On what the shortest treatment duration was likely to be with these DAAs, he explained: “If you put just one Hep C virus, one single RNA, into the body of a patient it is going to go into the blood cells and to the liver where it uses the machinery inside the cell to replicate and produce new viruses, and all that takes around 80 days. So we thought that in order to be able to make sure you don’t have any virus in any of those steps…. you need at least 80 days of therapy....
Changing the face of hepatitis C management – the design and development of sofosbuvir
May 20
FDA Okays Hep-C Investigational Combo for Post-Transplant Patients
Based on favorable results from the ALLY-1 trial, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended its breakthrough therapy designation for a hepatitis-C drug combo.
The change means that daclatasvir (Daklinza/ Bristol-Myers Squibb) and sofosbuvir (Sovaldi/Gilead ) may now be given to patients who have hepatitis C infections with either advanced cirrhosis or infections that have come back after patients received a liver transplant.
Hep C landscape shifts again as BMS combo nabs breakthrough tag
Dasabuvir in hepatitis C: Indication of added benefit in certain patients
All ten groups were reflected in the dossier compiled by the drug manufacturer, but the data were informative for only three of these groups. The benefit assessment was based on two randomized controlled approval studies (MALACHITE I and II), in which dasabuvir in combination with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir and/or ribavirin was directly compared with triple therapy consisting of telaprevir, pegylated interferon and ribavirin.
HealthWell Foundation's New Fund Brings Financial Relief to Underinsured People Living with Hepatitis C
Series- Hot Topics In HCV
MedPage Today HCV HOT TOPICS - 10 Day Video Series
MedPage Today invited specialists from leading medical institutions to weigh in on the latest advancements in hepatitis C with one question each day for 10 days.
Achillion partners with J&J to develop hepatitis C drugs
High Cost of Hepatitis C Drug Prompts a Call to Void Its Patents
View all updates @ NATAP
EASL: The Impact of Ribavirin on Real World Adherence and Discontinuation Rates in HCV Patients Treated with Sofosbuvir + Simeprevir
May 19
New at Clinical Care Options
Audio - HCV Experienced Patients: Resistance testing, Cirrhosis and Genotype 3 Infection
Topics In This Webinar Include;
HCV therapy in the setting of renal impairment, resistance testing in DAA experienced patients, and the best approach to treat patients with cirrhosis or experienced patients who have genotype 3 infection.
DDW Daily News - Pricing remains main barrier to HCV eradication
Scientists identify crucial step in helping to prevent Hepatitis C virus replicating
May 18
SVR durability using new interferon-free DAAs in comparison to SVR with interferon-based regimens
In this month's issue of HCV Next, Michael S. Saag, MD., writes about SVR durability using new all-oral, interferon-free DAAs in comparison to SVR with interferon-based regimens, noting some experts suggest there may be a difference.
EASL- Delaying HCV therapy worsens treatment efficacy
VIENNA — Delaying treatment for hepatitis C virus infection until an increased fibrosis-4 score is reached negatively impacted the efficacy of the treatment among veterans, according to data presented at the 2015 International Liver Congress.
Hep C patient sues Blue Cross for blocking access to Harvoni
It had to happen: A patient denied the latest hepatitis C drugs has sued her insurance company. In this case, it's Anthem Blue Cross, and the California plaintiff says her plan blocked her from treatment because she's not sick enough to qualify under its rules.
Lives could be saved with hepatitis C treatment
Hepatitis C Recommendations for 2015 - DDW
NEWSLETTER
NHS England accused of interference over hepatitis C drug
Officials at NHS England have been accused of interfering in a process to decide whether a drug which can cure Hepatitis C should be made available to patients on the health service
Hepatitis C: Weighing the Price of a Cure
A new class of drugs has proven to be an exceptional clinical success, but it's their equally striking costs that are garnering more attention.
BEST OF EASL
Watch Expert Perspectives: Best of HCV from EASL 2015
CDC Hepatitis C section Under Fire - "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: protecting the private good?"
Helping doctors predict what's next for patients diagnosed with Hepatitis C
Cures for other viruses may follow Hep C
Working on the Hep C virus since 1987, Dr Lopez-Talavera believed at the time that researchers like himself would never be able to cure Hep C without interferon, and that one year of therapy would always be needed. “But as much as I knew, I didn’t know much. And I keep learning, learning more about the virus,” he said.
On what the shortest treatment duration was likely to be with these DAAs, he explained: “If you put just one Hep C virus, one single RNA, into the body of a patient it is going to go into the blood cells and to the liver where it uses the machinery inside the cell to replicate and produce new viruses, and all that takes around 80 days. So we thought that in order to be able to make sure you don’t have any virus in any of those steps…. you need at least 80 days of therapy....
Changing the face of hepatitis C management – the design and development of sofosbuvir
May 20
FDA Okays Hep-C Investigational Combo for Post-Transplant Patients
Based on favorable results from the ALLY-1 trial, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended its breakthrough therapy designation for a hepatitis-C drug combo.
The change means that daclatasvir (Daklinza/ Bristol-Myers Squibb) and sofosbuvir (Sovaldi/Gilead ) may now be given to patients who have hepatitis C infections with either advanced cirrhosis or infections that have come back after patients received a liver transplant.
Hep C landscape shifts again as BMS combo nabs breakthrough tag
Dasabuvir in hepatitis C: Indication of added benefit in certain patients
All ten groups were reflected in the dossier compiled by the drug manufacturer, but the data were informative for only three of these groups. The benefit assessment was based on two randomized controlled approval studies (MALACHITE I and II), in which dasabuvir in combination with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir and/or ribavirin was directly compared with triple therapy consisting of telaprevir, pegylated interferon and ribavirin.
HealthWell Foundation's New Fund Brings Financial Relief to Underinsured People Living with Hepatitis C
Series- Hot Topics In HCV
MedPage Today HCV HOT TOPICS - 10 Day Video Series
MedPage Today invited specialists from leading medical institutions to weigh in on the latest advancements in hepatitis C with one question each day for 10 days.
Achillion partners with J&J to develop hepatitis C drugs
High Cost of Hepatitis C Drug Prompts a Call to Void Its Patents
View all updates @ NATAP
EASL: The Impact of Ribavirin on Real World Adherence and Discontinuation Rates in HCV Patients Treated with Sofosbuvir + Simeprevir
May 19
New at Clinical Care Options
Audio - HCV Experienced Patients: Resistance testing, Cirrhosis and Genotype 3 Infection
Topics In This Webinar Include;
HCV therapy in the setting of renal impairment, resistance testing in DAA experienced patients, and the best approach to treat patients with cirrhosis or experienced patients who have genotype 3 infection.
DDW Daily News - Pricing remains main barrier to HCV eradication
Scientists identify crucial step in helping to prevent Hepatitis C virus replicating
May 18
SVR durability using new interferon-free DAAs in comparison to SVR with interferon-based regimens
In this month's issue of HCV Next, Michael S. Saag, MD., writes about SVR durability using new all-oral, interferon-free DAAs in comparison to SVR with interferon-based regimens, noting some experts suggest there may be a difference.
EASL- Delaying HCV therapy worsens treatment efficacy
VIENNA — Delaying treatment for hepatitis C virus infection until an increased fibrosis-4 score is reached negatively impacted the efficacy of the treatment among veterans, according to data presented at the 2015 International Liver Congress.
Hep C patient sues Blue Cross for blocking access to Harvoni
It had to happen: A patient denied the latest hepatitis C drugs has sued her insurance company. In this case, it's Anthem Blue Cross, and the California plaintiff says her plan blocked her from treatment because she's not sick enough to qualify under its rules.
Lives could be saved with hepatitis C treatment
Hepatitis C Recommendations for 2015 - DDW
NEWSLETTER
In This Issue:
EASL 2015: Snapshots
Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief
This year’s conference had many outstanding presentations about hepatitis C drugs in development—too many to cover in one edition of the HCV Advocatenewsletter. As a result, we will be covering EASL in this edition as well in the next Mid-Monthly edition. I have tried to pick out a couple of most interesting studies from the presentations from AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, and Merck.
EASL 2015: Snapshots
Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief
This year’s conference had many outstanding presentations about hepatitis C drugs in development—too many to cover in one edition of the HCV Advocatenewsletter. As a result, we will be covering EASL in this edition as well in the next Mid-Monthly edition. I have tried to pick out a couple of most interesting studies from the presentations from AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, and Merck.
Planning for Disability
Jacques Chambers, CLU
Even though there are some wonderful, new medications on the market, some people with HCV will still need to consider going on disability at some time in the future. For most people, it is not always easy to know when the right time to leave is. Liver disease caused by HCV is often marked by a gradual progression toward disability. As well, the emotional issues involved around leaving work and "becoming disabled" further cloud the decision-making process.
Jacques Chambers, CLU
Even though there are some wonderful, new medications on the market, some people with HCV will still need to consider going on disability at some time in the future. For most people, it is not always easy to know when the right time to leave is. Liver disease caused by HCV is often marked by a gradual progression toward disability. As well, the emotional issues involved around leaving work and "becoming disabled" further cloud the decision-making process.
The Five: May Is Hepatitis Awareness Month
Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief
May is Hepatitis Awareness month. In this month's column, I will provide a brief overview of the five hepatitis viruses—prevalence, how they are transmitted, and how to prevent transmission. Important Note: This is a very brief overview of viral hepatitis. For detailed information about viral hepatitis see our Viral Hepatitis: The Basics.
Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief
May is Hepatitis Awareness month. In this month's column, I will provide a brief overview of the five hepatitis viruses—prevalence, how they are transmitted, and how to prevent transmission. Important Note: This is a very brief overview of viral hepatitis. For detailed information about viral hepatitis see our Viral Hepatitis: The Basics.
Read more...
Blogs
Lucinda K. Porter, RN
Hepatitis C: Why We Aren’t Curing this Easy to Cure Disease
Lucinda K. Porter, RN
Author, Hepatitis C Advocate, Health Educator
Last Entry: Tell Your Hep Story (2015-05-22 05:58:39)
Here is a big way that anyone with hepatitis C can do to raise hepatitis awareness - tell your hep story.
click here to enter
Matt Starr
Hepatitis, Liver Disease Support Coach
Last Entry: Worry and Boredom in Hartland (2015-05-21 16:10:57)
I'm taking ribavirin and Harvoni, the newest, most successful treatment yet developed for the insidious hepatitis C virus, with a cure rate of over 90% for my genotype 1. The side effects from ribavirin are fatigue and anemia, which my body has resisted, but is slowly increasing.
click here to enter
Grace Campbell
A pseudonym for a person living with hepatitis C on Viekira Pak + Ribavirin
Last Entry: Hepatitis C: Uh oh. Buckle up - blood tests happening soon (2015-05-21 04:05:38)
It's Week 8 Blood Test time. You know what that means don't you. It's where I attempt to keep my anxiety under control by spending about $200 at the bookshop. That's my excuse for the purchases, anyway.
click here to enter
Greg Jefferys
My Hep C Travel Diary, Hepatitis C Advocate
Last Entry: 'The Medicine Is Out There But I Can't Afford It' (2015-05-20 10:50:27)
I am getting a lot of emails from folk with Hep C sharing their stories with me and their terrible frustration at not being able to access the medication that might cure them.
click here to enter
Kyle Jacobs
A pseudonym for a person living with hepatitis C on Harvoni
Last Entry: SVR 21 Weeks Post Treatment with Harvoni (2015-05-19 14:43:42)
Great news to report on my HCV viral load test! I still have a Sustained Virologic Response (SVR) for 21 weeks post treatment from Harvoni and according to my doctor, the incidence of late relapse is very low (less than 1%).
click here to enter
Rick Nash
Hepatitis C Advocate
Last Entry: I shall not die so easily. (2015-05-15 11:46:29)
I received the results from my 24 weeks of Harvoni.
click here to enter
Have a wonderful weekend!
Tina
Lucinda K. Porter, RN
Hepatitis C: Why We Aren’t Curing this Easy to Cure Disease
What if you had type 2 diabetes and your health insurance denied treatment because you weren’t sick enough.
Lucinda K. Porter, RN
Author, Hepatitis C Advocate, Health Educator
Last Entry: Tell Your Hep Story (2015-05-22 05:58:39)
Here is a big way that anyone with hepatitis C can do to raise hepatitis awareness - tell your hep story.
click here to enter
Matt Starr
Hepatitis, Liver Disease Support Coach
Last Entry: Worry and Boredom in Hartland (2015-05-21 16:10:57)
I'm taking ribavirin and Harvoni, the newest, most successful treatment yet developed for the insidious hepatitis C virus, with a cure rate of over 90% for my genotype 1. The side effects from ribavirin are fatigue and anemia, which my body has resisted, but is slowly increasing.
click here to enter
Grace Campbell
A pseudonym for a person living with hepatitis C on Viekira Pak + Ribavirin
Last Entry: Hepatitis C: Uh oh. Buckle up - blood tests happening soon (2015-05-21 04:05:38)
It's Week 8 Blood Test time. You know what that means don't you. It's where I attempt to keep my anxiety under control by spending about $200 at the bookshop. That's my excuse for the purchases, anyway.
click here to enter
Greg Jefferys
My Hep C Travel Diary, Hepatitis C Advocate
Last Entry: 'The Medicine Is Out There But I Can't Afford It' (2015-05-20 10:50:27)
I am getting a lot of emails from folk with Hep C sharing their stories with me and their terrible frustration at not being able to access the medication that might cure them.
click here to enter
Kyle Jacobs
A pseudonym for a person living with hepatitis C on Harvoni
Last Entry: SVR 21 Weeks Post Treatment with Harvoni (2015-05-19 14:43:42)
Great news to report on my HCV viral load test! I still have a Sustained Virologic Response (SVR) for 21 weeks post treatment from Harvoni and according to my doctor, the incidence of late relapse is very low (less than 1%).
click here to enter
Rick Nash
Hepatitis C Advocate
Last Entry: I shall not die so easily. (2015-05-15 11:46:29)
I received the results from my 24 weeks of Harvoni.
click here to enter
Have a wonderful weekend!
Tina
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