Lawsuits in India and Argentina to reduce Hepatitis C drug costs by allowing generic versions

Nature: The liver disease hepatitis C is the new battleground for lawsuits intended to slash the cost of life-saving medicines. In February alone, five suits were filed in India and Argentina claiming that the latest class of antiviral drugs does not warrant the 20-year patent monopoly that manufacturers have sought in those countries. In the 2000s, successful challenges to patents on HIV drugs gave poor nations access to high-quality ‘generic’ copies of the medications at rock-bottom prices. Now, buoyed by that success, activists are applying the same strategy to a fresh wave of hepatitis C drugs. They note that the standard 12-week course of treatment costs more than the average annual salary for millions of people in middle-income countries.

A common virus could help fight liver cancer and hepatitis C

TheConversation: Reovirus, a common virus that causes mild cases of respiratory infection, mainly in children, could be harnessed as an immunotherapy to fight primary liver cancer and hepatitis C. Viruses cause around 20% of all human cancer. While only a handful are known to be tumour-promoting, this is a particular problem for liver cancer, where around three-quarters of cases are caused by either hepatitis C virus (HCV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV). These cause long-lived infections within the liver that in some people eventually give rise to tumours. But in our latest study, we show that our immune systems can be coerced into targeting both the tumour and the underlying HCV infection that is driving it to grow.

Hepatitis C virus observed under a microscope for the first time

INSERM: Scientists have finally observed the hepatitis C virus (or HCV) using an electron microscope. This is the first time since the virus became known in 1990. Inserm researchers at Tours (Inserm unit 966, “HIV and Hepatitis Viruses: Morphogenesis and Antigenicity”) have taken other scientists by surprise, including an American team believed to have accomplished this feat in 2013. The latter had in fact misunderstood the nature of the particles observed.  This research is published in the journal Gut.

Lives could be saved with hepatitis C treatment

Monash: In a letter to the Medical Journal of Australia published today, a Monash University-led team is asking for hepatitis C virus patients to gain improved access to drugs to prevent liver related deaths. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health burden in Australia, with estimates of 230,000 people chronically infected. The research team are calling for the government to subsidise a new therapy which has high cure rates, known as direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy.

Hepatitis C common among HIV-positive patients in sub-Saharan Africa

London: A new study has found high levels of infection with hepatitis C (HCV) across Africa, particularly in people infected with HIV. In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers from Imperial College London and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) collated data on over 1.1 million individuals from 213 studies to provide policymakers with robust estimates of the burden of HCV infection.

The report, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, found that around three per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa have been infected with HCV infection, rising to 5.7 per cent in individuals with HIV. The findings will inform the global debate about how treatment should be made available to all those who need it.

Effectiveness of New Combination Treatment for HCV Patients

JAMA: In two studies appearing in the May 5 issue of JAMA, patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection and with or without cirrhosis achieved high rates of sustained virologic response after 12 weeks of treatment with a combination of the direct-acting-antiviral drugs daclatasvir, asunaprevir, and beclabuvir. Current estimates indicate that 130 million to 150 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV, resulting in up to 350,000 deaths per year. Of the 7 HCV genotypes identified, genotype 1 is the most prevalent worldwide, accounting for approximately 60 percent of infections. Treatment options for HCV genotype 1 are evolving rapidly from interferon-based regimens to all-oral, direct-acting antiviral only regimens.

Targeting a host receptor instead of the virus: a new experimental approach against hepatitis C virus

INSERM: An international collaboration led by Professor Thomas Baumert (Inserm/University of Strasbourg Joint Research Unit 1110, “Institute for Viral and Liver Disease”) has shown that a monoclonal antibody directed specifically against claudin-1, a liver protein essential for infection by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), enables the prevention and treatment of chronic infection by this virus in an animal model. It turns out that this antibody, which was known to inhibit HCV entry and thereby prevent the initiation of infection, can also eliminate infected cells. This discovery, published in a letter in the Nature Biotechnology issue of 23 March 2015, opens the way to developing an approach to hepatitis C that is not only preventive, but therapeutic as well.

study to assess community-based hepatitis C treatment in Washington, D.C.

NIH: Officials from the National Institutes of Health and the city of Washington, D.C., launched a clinical trial to examine whether primary care physicians and other health care providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, can use a new antiviral therapy as effectively as specialist physicians to treat people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The trial, which will involve 600 adult D.C. residents infected with HCV alone or co-infected with HCV and HIV, also will examine the long-term effects of the treatment.

Daclatasvir for hepatitis C: hint of added benefit in genotype 4

IQWIG. Germany: Data on genotype 4 subsequently submitted showed advantage in sustained virologic response (SVR)Daclatasvir (trade name Daklinza) has been approved since August 2014 for the treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection. According to the dossier assessment conducted by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in December 2014, no added benefit could be derived for daclatasvir.

Worldwide treatment of hepatitis C could be within sight at the right cost

Liverpool University. UK: Lowering the cost of hepatitis C drugs is possible and key to achieving global access to treatment, according to new research by the University of Liverpool and Imperial College London.
There are an estimated 185 million people infected with the hepatitis C virus worldwide and 160,000 in Britain. Currently there is no vaccine and, if left untreated, infection can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, causing up to 500,000 related deaths globally per year.

Study builds understanding of hepatitis C virus replication

UNC. US: Hepatitis C virus infection is a common cause of liver disease and of liver cancer in the United States. Through a new study that explores one aspect of how the virus hijacks host cell machinery to replicate itself, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have gained insight into the workings of a potential drug target for hepatitis C.

Worldwide treatment of hepatitis C could be within sight at the right cost

Imperial College. UK: Lowering the cost of hepatitis C drugs is possible and it is key to achieving global access to treatment, according to new research. There are an estimated 185 million people infected with the hepatitis C virus worldwide and 160,000 in Britain. Currently there is no vaccine and, if left untreated, infection can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, causing up to 500,000 related deaths globally per year. Hepatitis C is particularly problematic in low to middle income countries; for example 12 million people are infected in Egypt.

Widespread Hepatitis C Screening – Do Benefits Outweigh Harms?

Georgetown University. US: In light of recent recommendations for widespread hepatitis C screening, researchers are calling for clinical trials to determine if that screening would result in greater benefit or harm.

FDA approves Viekira Pak to treat hepatitis C

FDA. US: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Viekira Pak (ombitasvir, paritaprevir and ritonavir tablets co-packaged with dasabuvir tablets) to treat patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection, including those with a type of advanced liver disease called cirrhosis.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis virus. PHIL

Author: Dr Norah Terrault University of California San Francisco 2008-07-23
Hepatitis C is a common cause of chronic liver disease both worldwide and in the U.S. Hepatitis C virus is transmitted through blood or blood-contaminated objects. Many individuals do not know they are infected. Most persons with chronic hepatitis C will be without any symptoms. Acute infection is followed by a chronic disease is the majority of those infected. Hepatitis C infection can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer after several decades of infection. Effective treatments are available.