Hepatitis C News

Cocaine use was associated with a higher level of liver apoptosis and liver fibrosis progression after 1-year follow-up in individuals living with HIV, according to an abstract presented at AIDS 2016.

HCV was not associated with an increase in HIV viral load among adults with HIV, according to data from a systematic review presented at AIDS 2016.

The use of direct-acting antivirals as therapy for patients with hepatitis C virus infection and decompensated cirrhosis may lead to long-term improvement in liver function. In addition, the antivirals did not increase liver malignancy, according to results of a prospective study.

In recent years, the revolution in hepatitis C therapy engendered by interferon-free DAAs brought intense gratification, relief and hope for millions of patients and their health care providers. However, for a large class of patients, an initially unexpected byproduct of this revolution emerged in the form of restricted access to these therapies therapy on the basis of cost.

Although prisoners and detainees constitute a substantial proportion of the global HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis burdens, many incarcerated persons do not receive adequate clinical care for these transmissible diseases, according to a series of studies and commentaries recently published in The Lancet.

The European Commission approved Gilead Science’s marketing authorization application for Epclusa for the treatment of all chronic hepatitis C genotypes, according to a press release from the manufacturer.

In a cost-effectiveness analysis, unrestricted access to treatment for patients with hepatitis C virus infection was more cost-effective compared with the current policy that restricts treatment to only those with advanced disease.

The Medicines Patent Pool announced that it has signed generic manufacturing licenses for four HIV medications and one hepatitis C virus medication, according to a press release.

Baseline resistance-associated substitutions in NS5A had minimal effects on the response of patients to Harvoni in hepatitis C virus infection genotype 1, according to a recent study. Further, when resistance-associated substitution (RAS) effects were apparent, researchers found that increased intensity or duration of treatment could overcome them.

Trek Therapeutics has initiated a phase 2a study evaluating TD-6450 plus faldaprevir with and without ribavirin in patients with HCV infection genotype 1b in New Zealand and the United States.