Journal of Liver: Krankheit und Transplantation

Hepatitis C: Success, but at a High Cost of Cure

Maxwell M Chait

Hepatitis C: Success, but at a High Cost of Cure

Hepatitis C is a chronic infection that afflicts approximately 170 million people worldwide with annual mortality of 350,000. There are approximately 15,000 deaths annually in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved the combination medication Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir under the trade name of Harvoni with dramatically higher cure rates with fewer side effects than the interferon and ribavirin based regimens. The breakthrough treatment comes at a price that may place it out of reach for all but the wealthiest or best-insured patients.