Hepatitis C News

Most countries, especially high-income countries, are running out of patients with hepatitis C to treat due to low diagnosis rates, according to data presented at the World Hepatitis Summit 2017 in São Paulo, Brazil.

WASHINGTON — In this exclusive video from The Liver Meeting 2017, Gregory J. Dore, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, MPH, from the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, provides a perspective on reinfection of hepatitis C among injection drug users.

Since 2015, nearly 3 million people initiated treatment for hepatitis C, and in 2016 alone nearly 3 million initiated hepatitis B treatment, according to an announcement from the World Health Organization in conjunction with the World Hepatitis Summit. But despite this progress, leaders are calling for more action toward eradication of viral hepatitis.

Gilead announced that combined third-quarter sales for Harvoni, Sovaldi, Epclusa and Vosevi were $2.2 billion compared with $3.3 billion the third quarter of 2016, related to fewer patients initiating treatment and increased drug competition.

Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge — a U.S.-based nonprofit also known as I-MAK — filed a set of patent challenges against sofosbuvir, according to a press release from the organization. According to I-MAK, the drug’s six core patents do not meet the legal standards for novelty and non-obviousness.

The proportion of pregnant women with hepatitis C virus infection who receive Medicaid in Wisconsin has risen dramatically, suggesting an increased risk for mother-to-infant transmission, according to an MMWR.

WASHINGTON — A novel triple therapy combination correlated with nearly perfect SVR12 rates in most patients treated for 6 or 8 weeks, according to findings presented at The Liver Meeting 2017.

WASHINGTON — Novel direct-acting antiviral therapies carried a low hepatitis B virus reactivation risk, according to findings presented at The Liver Meeting 2017.

WASHINGTON — During a session focused on the connection between the hepatitis and opioid epidemics at The Liver Meeting 2017, Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, Surgeon General of the U.S., advised physicians in attendance that hepatitis C elimination will require nontraditional partnerships and innovative strategies for education, prevention and screening.

WASHINGTON — Reaching sustained virologic response with direct-acting antivirals reduced the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma by 71%, but all treatments that cleared the virus saw a similar reduction in risk, according to a presenter at The Liver Meeting 2017.