Editorial, J Liver Dis Transplant Vol: 3 Issue: 2
Hepatitis C: Success, but at a High Cost of Cure
| Maxwell M Chait* | |
| Assistant Professor of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, Columbia Doctors Medical Group, 180 East Hartsdale Avenue, Hartsdale, New York, USA | |
| Corresponding author : Maxwell M. Chait MD FACP FACG AGAF FASGE Assistant Professor of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, Columbia Doctors Medical Group, 180 East Hartsdale Avenue, Hartsdale, New York 10530, USA E-mail: maxwellchait@gmail.com |
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| Received: October 14, 2014 Accepted: October 18, 2014 Published: October 24, 2014 | |
| Citation: Maxwell M Chait, et al (2014) Hepatitis C: Success, but at a High Cost of Cure J Liver:: Dis Transplant 3:2. doi:10.4172/2325-9612.1000e106 |
Abstract
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.
