No evidence that $40,000 ‘miracle’ drug cures hepatitis C, report finds

There is no valid evidence that direct-acting antiviral drugs cure hepatitis C
The drug was hailed as a ‘miracle’ after it was able to rid the blood of the virus
A report claims despite the $40,000 drug the disease can still linger in the body
The virus is now the United States’ most common blood-borne infection
The study was done by the Cochrane Collaboration in Copenhagen, Denmark

A medicine hailed as a ‘miracle’ drug that could eliminate hepatitis C may not actually cure the disease, a study claims.

Sick patients were offered hope with a new $40,000 direct-acting antiviral drug, which boasted it could clear the virus from the blood within 12 weeks.

The staggering price of the medicine was worth it to some because the contagious liver disease can lead to cancer and death.

Now researchers claim that although the drug may rid the blood of the virus there is no valid evidence that it completely rids the body of the infection.

There is no valid evidence that direct-acting antiviral drugs cure hepatitis C, a Cochrane Collaboration study found. The $40,000 medicine may rid the blood of the virus but experts weren’t convinced it could prevent deaths

The research on direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) was conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent global network of researchers.

The experts concluded: ‘The lack of valid evidence and the possibility of potentially harming people with chronic hepatitis ought to be considered before treating people with hepatitis C with DAAs.’

In short, the scientists stated the drug may eliminate hepatitis C from the bloodstream but there wasn’t evidence the medicine would actually save lives.

The study claimed the virus could still be in the body and lead to an end-stage liver disease.

WHAT IS HEPATITIS C?

Hepatitis C is inflammation of the liver and there is no preventive vaccine.

There are around three million people in the US and 215,000 people in the UK who are living with chronic hepatitis.

Most aren’t aware that they are infected, according to the CDC.

Spread through contaminated blood, hepatitis C tends to develop into a chronic infection after six months.

The infection attacks the liver, leading to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Symptoms include:

Weight loss (without trying)
Loss of appetite
Feeling very full after a small meal
Nausea or vomiting
An enlarged liver, felt as a mass under the ribs on the right side
An enlarged spleen, felt as a mass under the ribs on the left side
Pain in the abdomen or near the right shoulder blade
Swelling or fluid build-up in the abdomen
Itching
Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

The conclusion was made after a team of scientists compiled results of DAA trials from different manufacturers.

Experts said the trials done by these companies did not properly examine to see if the symptoms of hepatitis C or if mortality rates were impacted by the DAAs.

Janus Christian Jakobsen, chief physician at a clinical trial unit in Copenhagen, said to the Guardian: ‘It is never possible to show that something does not work, but there is no evidence [that they do].

‘Our results indicate [the drugs] may have no clinical effect.’

AbbVie, a company making DAAs, countered that they were not going to recognize the report’s conclusions.

In a statement to the Guardian the company said: ‘We do not recognize the conclusions of this report, as both controlled trials and real world experience contradict its findings.

‘A cure in [hepatitis C] is defined as undetectable virus in the blood 12 weeks after completing treatment and, in the UK, fewer than one percent of people treated with AbbVie’s therapy did not achieve this.’

Hepatitis C is inflammation of the liver and there is no preventive vaccine.

It is spread through blood-to-blood contact such as sharing needles, razors and toothbrushes and can be passed on at birth by infected mothers.

The virus tends to develop into a chronic infection after six months and the infection attacks the liver, leading to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

The five-year relative survival rate for people with localized liver cancer – i.e. it has not spread – is about 31 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

Around three million people in the United States are living with chronic hepatitis and most aren’t aware that they are infected, according to the CDC.

In the UK, an estimated 215,000 people have the infection.

Rock legend Greg Allman died of liver cancer at the age of 69 years old on May 27.

It was 10 years after he was diagnosed with hepatitis C.

Deaths from liver cancer have doubled since the mid-1980s. One of the biggest drivers behind the rocketing rates is the high rate of hepatitis C infection among baby boomers – those born from 1945 to 1962.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEPATITIS?

Hepatitis A: It’s usually caught by consuming food and drink contaminated with the poo of an infected person and is most common in countries where sanitation is poor.

It usually passes within a few months, although it can occasionally be severe and even life-threatening. There’s no specific treatment for it, other than to relieve symptoms such as pain, nausea and itching.

Hepatitis B: It’s a common infection worldwide and is usually spread from infected pregnant women to their babies, or from child-to-child contact. In rare cases, it can be spread through unprotected sex and injecting drugs.

Most adults infected with hepatitis B are able to fight off the virus and fully recover from the infection within a couple of months.

Hepatitis C: It’s usually spread through blood-to-blood contact with an infected person, commonly through sharing needles used to inject drugs.

Around one in four people will fight off the infection, which doesn’t usually cause any noticeable symptoms, and be free of the virus.

Hepatitis D: It only affects people who are already infected with hepatitis B, as it needs the hepatitis B virus to be able to survive in the body.

Usually spread through blood-to-blood contact or sexual contact. It is more widespread in parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America.

Hepatitis E: It’s usually caught by consuming food and drink contaminated with the poo of an infected person.

It is generally a mild and short-term infection that doesn’t require any treatment, but it can be serious in a small number of people.

Alcoholic hepatitis: Caused by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over many years.

The condition is common in the UK and many people don’t realize they have it because it doesn’t usually cause any symptoms, although it can cause sudden jaundice and liver failure in some people.