Take a Bow, Pharma, for the Hepatitis C Drugs
March 28, 2018
The direct-acting virals revolutionized the treatment of hepatitis C. They also ushered turbocharged pricing. At least patients—and society—got a major health benefit in return.
The change in hepatitis C treatment is undeniably phenomenal. “Taking out interferon was a huge deal from a side effect perspective,” says Andrew Muir, MD, the gastroenterology chief at Duke, and chair of AASLD’s hepatitis C interest group.
Other benefits include having several treatment choices to pick from, he says, in contrast to when the interferon and ribavirin combination was the only option. Patients with hepatitis C tend to have a wide range of liver, renal, and cardiac comorbidities. Many were ineligible for interferon therapy, so they were, in effect, forced to live with hepatitis C. “Now, it is gratifying to be able take it off their plate,” Muir says.
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