Hepatitis C on the rise in the Northland; concerns focused on baby boomers and people younger than 30

Eight doesn’t seem like a lot, but eight cases of hepatitis C virus in Duluth caught the attention of state health officials.

“Duluth actually is an area we’ve been looking at for a little while,” said Kristin Sweet, hepatitis unit supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Health.

Nationwide, officials have noticed a rise in the potentially dangerous, chronic liver disease. The focus is on two groups: baby boomers, some of whom may have had the virus for years without knowing it; and people younger than 30, a group whose size seems to be increasing along with the recent increase in heroin use.

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Sofosbuvir/ledipasvir raises some antiretroviral levels in HIV/HCV coinfected people

HIV/HCV coinfected people who take sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (Harvoni) to treat hepatitis C along with boosted protease inhibitor antiretroviral regimens may experience changes in drugs levels, but these are mostly not considered clinically relevant, according to a drug-drug interaction study presented at the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) last month in Seattle. However, data on the safety and efficacy of combining sofosbuvir/ledipasvir with boosted protease inhibitors during treatment are lacking, and increased tenofovir exposure may be a concern.

The advent of interferon-free direct-acting antiviral regimens has brought about a revolution in treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including for patients who have traditionally been considered 'difficult to treat', such as those with HIV/HCV coinfection. Clinical trials have seen cure rates for coinfected people equal to those for patients with HCV alone, and current treatment guidelines and product labels indicate that HIV-positive patients can be treated with the same recommended regimens as HIV-negative ones, taking into account potential interactions with antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Polina German of Gilead Sciences reported findings from a phase 1 study to evaluate interactions between sofosbuvir/ledipasvir and ART regimens containing ritonavir-boosted atazanavir (Reyataz) or darunavir (Prezista) plus tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada) in healthy HIV-negative volunteers.

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Nepal: Natco Pharma up 4%, launches hepatitis C drug in Nepal

Shares of Natco Pharma gained 4.4 percent intraday on Monday on launching the first generic version of sofosbuvir in Nepal.

Sofosbuvir is a medicine used for chronic hepatitis C infection and sold globally by Gilead Sciences Inc., under its brand Sovaldi.

Natco priced its generic medicine at an MRP of Rs 19,900 for a bottle of 28 tablets in Nepal. "Natco markets generic sofosbuvir under its brand HEPCINAT. Natco hopes to launch HEPCINAT in India soon, subject to approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)," said the company in its filing to the exchange.

Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/buzzing-stocks/natco-pharma4-launches-hepatitis-c-drugnepal_1323547.html?utm_source=ref_article

Scotland: Scots patients first in UK to hepatitis C ‘cure’

HEPATITIS C sufferers in Scotland are the first patients in the UK to be given access to a new treatment that cures up to 99 per cent of cases in eight or 12 weeks.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted for use Harvoni for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C which affects one in every 100 people in Scotland and causes more than 20 per cent of all liver transplants.

Approximately 50,000 people in Scotland are infected with hepatitis C, which can cause liver cancer or liver failure – equivalent to around 1 per cent of the Scottish population.

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Weekly Special Topic: Support Group Handbook & Lessons

Support Group Handbook & Lessons

Emotional and informational support are extrmely important for people with hepatitis C. If you are interested in starting or attending a support group in your area, then check out our recently updated Support Group Handbook and Support Group Lessons:

Click Here

Important Note: HCV Advocate Website Redesign

Due to the rapid changes in the landscape of hepatitis C we will be conducting a major evaluation and reorganization of our website content over the next few months.   

This week will be updating and condensing our Women and HCV fact sheets/guides series.   

Additionally, we will be moving our older HCV treatment fact sheet series and guides to a new page titled “HCV Advocate Historical Treatments Page.”  We will keep you updated as changes are made. 

We hope that these changes will make your visit to our Website easier to use and more enjoyable.  

                                                                                   Alan

Bangladesh: $10 Copy of Gilead Blockbuster Sovaldi Appears in Bangladesh

(Bloomberg) -- A $10 version of Sovaldi, the Gilead Sciences Inc. hepatitis C treatment that sells for $1,000 a pill in the U.S., is now available in Bangladesh and could make its way to other parts of the world where the U.S. company doesn’t have patents.

Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd. doesn’t have a license from Gilead and its version was launched last month, said Managing Director Abdul Muktadir. The company also aims to sell the drug overseas, including to parts of Southeast Asia and Africa.

The generic drugmaker has beaten to the market a number of larger Indian competitors that were licensed by Gilead to produce low-cost versions of Sovaldi for 91 countries that are mostly poor. Nations not covered by Gilead’s license, including Thailand, Malaysia and Morocco, and countries where Sovaldi isn’t patented could benefit from the new source of cheap copies.

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