I think that 3s may not escape interferon altogether, but on the upside, reducing treatment to 12 weeks is a blessing compared with 24 weeks. To compete with the huge competition that is arising, they will all work harder and faster to find better cures. Prices will reduce fast to get their drugs out there. I think these drugs will be wide spread before it is anticipated.
It is always horrible and makes your heart sink when you read things are not as good as you hoped, but we all have that, hope. I am sorry for people that are so far progressed that they are sitting on a time bomb, it can happen to anyone of us that are currently not cured. But I do believe that the future is bright and at least there is something out there that is coming our way.....
lucy said
Jul 14, 2013
Hi Mena, it is not this reason like you said the drug dosage is adjusted to be more beneficial for 1b. My Dr. told me they treat all Hep c patients by taking the twice daily dosing schedule with inviek only because it is easier to manage and less fat
Keep fighting
hepCFREEwanab wrote:
Hi Lucy, just noticed that you are also Genotype 1b like my husband. I remember the day the Dr. told us about 1b, I asked "Would that make any difference in the treatment?" He said " Yes, the drug dosage is adjusted to be more beneficial for the patient"!
Mena
-- Edited by lucy on Sunday 14th of July 2013 06:15:20 PM
hepCFREEwanab said
Jul 12, 2013
Hi Lucy, just noticed that you are also Genotype 1b like my husband. I remember the day the Dr. told us about being 1b, I asked "Would that make any difference in the treatment?" He said " Yes, the drug dosage is adjusted to be more beneficial for the patient"!
Mena
lucy said
Jul 11, 2013
I took the twice daily dosing schedule with incivek and it does work well for me. I`m sure it makes things a lot easier. I need not having to eat so much fat, and also there are less pills to remember to take!
Zlikster said
Jul 7, 2013
I doubt Gilead can overprice Sofosbuvir like that, cause other DAAs are pretty close in PhaseIII now. AbbVie's DAA combo got "breakthru" category from FDA rite? only hope, price wise, that competition will do it's job. 250k for Sofosbuvir, while the chemist behind it;s inventions is out of work? i hate this world ;-(
Dillo said
Jul 7, 2013
I didn't notice much from having to eliminate the extra 20 gms of fat a day. To me it was more natural to take around the times I would be eating my usual meals anyway. I posted some information here in response to one of Kellies post before that said the duration not the dosage was more important. I lost weight during Incivek anyway. About 20lbs.
I enjoyed seeing all the new drugs in the pipeline. Lots of them I have read about but the combinations were interesting. I myself hope some of the ones with less sx are not looked over by some insurance company's and country's with national healthcare programs to save cost. Generally there are lots of people who can't miss work due to sx and their out of pocket cost would be more if they did.
mallani said
Jul 6, 2013
I didn't mean to give the wrong impression, as the new DAA's show how Medical Research has reached fantastic levels.
My concern is the exorbitant cost. African and Asian countries have huge reservoirs of HCV but will never see these drugs.
Karen, HIV was completely different. The Medical Profession was united, they had a huge lobby group, Governments were pressured to fund, and HIV drugs were relatively inexpensive. There is still apathy in the Medical profession towards HepC, this 'drug-user's' disease, and the HCV virus has been expensive to research, and difficult to treat. When Gilead paid $ 11 billion to acquire Sofosbuvir, we knew what to expect. Peg/Riba and Victrelis costs about $100,000 per patient. I would not be surprised if the Gilead Sofosbuvir combo costs $250,000.
I probably worry too much.
hepCFREEwanab said
Jul 6, 2013
Jill, that is the way Angelo is taking the Inciveck / 3 pills 2x every 12 hrs.
Spoke to Inciveck Nurse who told me that during a study done the results were very promising from the drug being given 2x instead of 3x
Actually it's better on the body because you are eliminating 20 additional gm of fat per day !
Mwna
Karen said
Jul 6, 2013
Hi Jill-Thanks for sharing the article...Interesting to read - How quick the progress...
Hi Malcolm, You are right, this was worth reading.
I am feeling a bit more optimistic that the near future will be bright for all of us. The real focus of finding better treatment options has not been going on that long. Being a geno 1a, I choose not to treat with peg/riba; my chance of success was low, treatment was brutal and the chance of coming out with another illness to contend with was high. I can remember my doctor telling me I would have been better off if I were geno 2 or 3...that was not long ago.
The lack of awareness and stigma of this disease has played a huge part in getting the world to wake up...I believe that is changing. There is progress being made in the areas of treatment, awareness..., at an amazing pace. I see this story similar to that of hiv/aids...the bigger it gets the more progress it will make. I think the time to show concern is when these kinds of articles cease and all goes silent....!
Cinnamon Girl said
Jul 6, 2013
hepCFREEwanab wrote:
Jill, that is the way Angelo is taking the Inciveck / 3 pills 2x every 12 hrs.
Spoke to Inciveck Nurse who told me that during a study done the results were very promising from the drug being given 2x instead of 3x
Actually it's better on the body because you are eliminating 20 additional gm of fat per day !
Mwna
Hi Mena, yes, the twice daily dosing schedule that Angelo is doing has been shown to be just as effective. I`m sure it must make things a lot easier, mainly because of not having to eat so much fat, and also because there are less pills to remember to take!
Cinnamon Girl said
Jul 6, 2013
Hi Malcolm, I can understand you worrying about the potential cost of these new drugs. There has been so much progress made over the last few years and we`re all impatient to see as many people as possible benefit from newer and more effective treatments. At the same time, it`s very exciting to see so many new drugs and combos in the pipeline. Things are moving forward at an astonishing pace, thank goodness, and I guess we`ve just got to be patient while it all rolls out!
Cinnamon Girl said
Jul 6, 2013
I agree, Malcolm, the future of Hep C treatments is looking very promising on the whole, although it`s a different story for people living outside the USA, with many countries not even having widespread access to incivek and victrelis yet. And still more clinical trials needed which include cirrhotics or people coinfected with HIV/HCV, who should be given much higher priority as they are in the greatest need of effective treatment.
Over here in the UK there`s about 40-50% of the Hep C infected population with gen 3, but at least most of them still have a good chance of a successful treatment outcome with the current standard peg/riba combo. Extremely frustrating for those who fail tx though, especially if they have cirrhosis, as they have very limited options as it currently stands.
Interesting point about making victrelis into a single pill, that would make the treatment much easier to adhere to. People on incivek now have the option of a twice daily, rather than three times daily dose, and the pill burden is so much greater with victrelis.
mallani said
Jul 6, 2013
Hi Jill,
This is a useful overview and well worth a read. I think the last paragraph is the most important. If countries can't afford to fund the new treatments, what's the point? The difficulty in treating cirrhotics and the Geno 1a's has also been glossed over. Apart from the USA, I think it will be 5-10 years before these drugs are used in other countries. How many cirrhotics will die before then?
Victrelis and Incivek have not been mentioned. These will be the front line drugs for many years in most countries, and all research into them appears to have ceased. These two drugs work, and surely they deserve more attention, particularly with a view to make the treatment regimes more simple, and to minimise Sx. I'm sure Victrelis could be made into a single pill (instead of 3), and probably is just as effective twice daily.
As usual, Genotype 3 receives little attention. This is fairly rare in the USA, but in Australia, ~ 40% of HCV have this Genotype. My Hepatologist has many cirrhotic Geno 3's who have failed Peg./Riba, waiting for a new Rx. They will wait in vain.
The near future may look exciting, but only if you live in the USA, are not cirrhotic, and not Geno 1a or 3.
I think that 3s may not escape interferon altogether, but on the upside, reducing treatment to 12 weeks is a blessing compared with 24 weeks. To compete with the huge competition that is arising, they will all work harder and faster to find better cures. Prices will reduce fast to get their drugs out there. I think these drugs will be wide spread before it is anticipated.
It is always horrible and makes your heart sink when you read things are not as good as you hoped, but we all have that, hope. I am sorry for people that are so far progressed that they are sitting on a time bomb, it can happen to anyone of us that are currently not cured. But I do believe that the future is bright and at least there is something out there that is coming our way.....
-- Edited by lucy on Sunday 14th of July 2013 06:15:20 PM
Hi Lucy, just noticed that you are also Genotype 1b like my husband. I remember the day the Dr. told us about being 1b, I asked "Would that make any difference in the treatment?" He said " Yes, the drug dosage is adjusted to be more beneficial for the patient"!
Mena
I doubt Gilead can overprice Sofosbuvir like that, cause other DAAs are pretty close in PhaseIII now. AbbVie's DAA combo got "breakthru" category from FDA rite? only hope, price wise, that competition will do it's job. 250k for Sofosbuvir, while the chemist behind it;s inventions is out of work? i hate this world ;-(
I didn't notice much from having to eliminate the extra 20 gms of fat a day. To me it was more natural to take around the times I would be eating my usual meals anyway. I posted some information here in response to one of Kellies post before that said the duration not the dosage was more important. I lost weight during Incivek anyway. About 20lbs.
I enjoyed seeing all the new drugs in the pipeline. Lots of them I have read about but the combinations were interesting. I myself hope some of the ones with less sx are not looked over by some insurance company's and country's with national healthcare programs to save cost. Generally there are lots of people who can't miss work due to sx and their out of pocket cost would be more if they did.
I didn't mean to give the wrong impression, as the new DAA's show how Medical Research has reached fantastic levels.
My concern is the exorbitant cost. African and Asian countries have huge reservoirs of HCV but will never see these drugs.
Karen, HIV was completely different. The Medical Profession was united, they had a huge lobby group, Governments were pressured to fund, and HIV drugs were relatively inexpensive. There is still apathy in the Medical profession towards HepC, this 'drug-user's' disease, and the HCV virus has been expensive to research, and difficult to treat. When Gilead paid $ 11 billion to acquire Sofosbuvir, we knew what to expect. Peg/Riba and Victrelis costs about $100,000 per patient. I would not be surprised if the Gilead Sofosbuvir combo costs $250,000.
I probably worry too much.
Jill, that is the way Angelo is taking the Inciveck / 3 pills 2x every 12 hrs.
Spoke to Inciveck Nurse who told me that during a study done the results were very promising from the drug being given 2x instead of 3x
Actually it's better on the body because you are eliminating 20 additional gm of fat per day !
Mwna
Hi Jill-Thanks for sharing the article...Interesting to read - How quick the progress...
Hi Malcolm, You are right, this was worth reading.
I am feeling a bit more optimistic that the near future will be bright for all of us. The real focus of finding better treatment options has not been going on that long. Being a geno 1a, I choose not to treat with peg/riba; my chance of success was low, treatment was brutal and the chance of coming out with another illness to contend with was high. I can remember my doctor telling me I would have been better off if I were geno 2 or 3...that was not long ago.
The lack of awareness and stigma of this disease has played a huge part in getting the world to wake up...I believe that is changing. There is progress being made in the areas of treatment, awareness..., at an amazing pace. I see this story similar to that of hiv/aids...the bigger it gets the more progress it will make. I think the time to show concern is when these kinds of articles cease and all goes silent....!
Hi Mena, yes, the twice daily dosing schedule that Angelo is doing has been shown to be just as effective. I`m sure it must make things a lot easier, mainly because of not having to eat so much fat, and also because there are less pills to remember to take!
Hi Malcolm, I can understand you worrying about the potential cost of these new drugs. There has been so much progress made over the last few years and we`re all impatient to see as many people as possible benefit from newer and more effective treatments. At the same time, it`s very exciting to see so many new drugs and combos in the pipeline. Things are moving forward at an astonishing pace, thank goodness, and I guess we`ve just got to be patient while it all rolls out!
I agree, Malcolm, the future of Hep C treatments is looking very promising on the whole, although it`s a different story for people living outside the USA, with many countries not even having widespread access to incivek and victrelis yet. And still more clinical trials needed which include cirrhotics or people coinfected with HIV/HCV, who should be given much higher priority as they are in the greatest need of effective treatment.
Over here in the UK there`s about 40-50% of the Hep C infected population with gen 3, but at least most of them still have a good chance of a successful treatment outcome with the current standard peg/riba combo. Extremely frustrating for those who fail tx though, especially if they have cirrhosis, as they have very limited options as it currently stands.
Interesting point about making victrelis into a single pill, that would make the treatment much easier to adhere to. People on incivek now have the option of a twice daily, rather than three times daily dose, and the pill burden is so much greater with victrelis.
Hi Jill,
This is a useful overview and well worth a read. I think the last paragraph is the most important. If countries can't afford to fund the new treatments, what's the point? The difficulty in treating cirrhotics and the Geno 1a's has also been glossed over. Apart from the USA, I think it will be 5-10 years before these drugs are used in other countries. How many cirrhotics will die before then?
Victrelis and Incivek have not been mentioned. These will be the front line drugs for many years in most countries, and all research into them appears to have ceased. These two drugs work, and surely they deserve more attention, particularly with a view to make the treatment regimes more simple, and to minimise Sx. I'm sure Victrelis could be made into a single pill (instead of 3), and probably is just as effective twice daily.
As usual, Genotype 3 receives little attention. This is fairly rare in the USA, but in Australia, ~ 40% of HCV have this Genotype. My Hepatologist has many cirrhotic Geno 3's who have failed Peg./Riba, waiting for a new Rx. They will wait in vain.
The near future may look exciting, but only if you live in the USA, are not cirrhotic, and not Geno 1a or 3.
You`ll be fine, Zlikster, don`t worry!
New Drugs Pipeline
See article...
http://www.hepctrust.org.uk/News_Resources/news/2013/July/New+drugs+pipeline