Some years ago when the only treatment available for people infected with Hep c was SQ pegylated interferon and oral ribavirin which treatments lasted for periods of at least 6 months and up to one year or more. The long treatment period and its debilitating side effects and discomfort often caused patients to suspend or stop their treatments.
With the recent launching of the oral interferon-free direct-acting antiviral regimens into the market lead by Gilead Sciences Inc, the period of treatment has shorten to 3 months and the rate of cure for genotype 1 virus infections has substantially increased. These new oral drugs continue to be the preferred treatment prescribed by doctors. Oral therapy such as Harvoni, Sovaldi, Olysio, Viekira, and Daklinza are very common nowadays and the rate of cure has improved and the side effects experienced in patients has greatly decreased
Currently research is focusing on further increasing the effectiveness of the new drugs for Hepatitis C and further shortening the required time for treatment. A shorter treatment time could mean lower cost and affordability for patients.
Although some treatments have not been approved by FDA yet, a combination of Sovaldi and two other Gilead experimental drugs have shown promising signs of producing cure outcomes of up to 90% for Genotype 1 and decreasing the treatment time for patients. These results were presented in the EASL 50th International Liver Congress in Vienna past April 2015.
It is a certain fact that pharmaceutical companies are committed to researching new, more effective, and affordable drugs that will represent a new hope of cure for many patients around the world that are infected with this devastating virus.
