Monday, March 7, 2016

Cost Keeps HCV Care Out of Reach

WATCH
Cost Keeps HCV Care Out of Reach
CDC Expert Commentary
John W. Ward, MD
March 07, 2016

Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that new, simple-to-use treatment regimens for persons living with HCV infection are safe and highly effective, leading to cure in the vast majority of patients—the public health implications of which could be profound. The effectiveness of a combination of sofosbuvir and velpatasvir in patients who have failed to respond to previous treatment and in those with decompensated cirrhosis, a contraindication for earlier HCV treatment regimens, is also very promising, with high rates of cure regardless of HCV genotype.[3]

Given the benefits of safe, easy-to-use, and curative HCV therapy, why be concerned about the impact of HCV on individuals and the public as a whole? The answer is simple:Patients do not benefit from a drug that they cannot afford.

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