New treatment for hepatitis C infection now available at ANMC
October 21, 2016
Since 2013, more effective drug therapies for treating hepatitis C have increased the rate at which our people are completing treatment that leads to a cure for the deadly virus. Joining a family of highly effective direct acting antiviral therapies available at ANMC is a newly licensed drug consisting of sofosbuvir and valpatasvir (Epclusa®, Gilead Sciences, Inc.). This is a fixed-dose combination tablet that covers six hepatitis C virus genotypes and is approved for use in persons with serious liver disease, most of whom had no treatment options available prior to this drug’s approval. Through the Liver Disease and Hepatitis Program, ANTHC is currently supporting two programs to increase treatment rates for our people who are living with hepatitis C infection. First is the Hepatitis C Treatment strategic initiative, which has made the new treatment options available for the past three years. Through this initiative at ANMC, 270 patients have completed treatment with more than 95 percent completing treatment as prescribed by their provider. For patients who have completed treatment, 93 percent of them have been cured (i.e., no detectable virus in their blood, 12-weeks post-treatment completion). Statewide, outside of ANMC, more than 100 persons have received hepatitis C treatment. Second, ANTHC is sponsoring a research project by which these high cost pharmaceuticals, including the new drug, are made available for treatment at no cost to ANTHC or the patient. This project will allow ANTHC to provide hepatitis C treatment to 300 customers at a greatly reduced cost and provide important information on the drug effectiveness for Alaska Native and American Indian people. For more information about the ANTHC Liver Disease and Hepatitis Program, visit http://anthctoday.org/community/hep/index.html.