June 01--Two drugs recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration have the potential to nearly double the cure rate of hepatitis C, according to a local doctor who studies the disease.
"This is a kind of revolution in treatment," said Dr. Harvey Tatum, a gastroenterologist at Utica Park Clinic.
Inicivek, also known as Telaprevir, is marketed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and was approved last week ; Merck's Victrelis, or boceprevir, was approved May 13. The pills work in the same way.
There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, which is a virus that causes inflammation of the liver and can lead to liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer and death. It can be spread through blood, intravenous drug use and sex with an infected person.
Tatum, who consults for both companies marketing the new drugs, said they will allow for shorter treatment of as few as 24 weeks, as opposed to about 48 weeks for the traditional treatment.
The older treatment had a cure rate of up to 40 percent, while the rate for the newer drugs nears 80 percent, he said.
An estimated 3.2 million people have chronic hepatitis C, and most of them are of the baby boomer generation. Nearly three quarters of people with the disease aren't aware of it because it is often asymptomatic.
Testing is confidential, and most primary care physicians can perform the blood test, which is also available at the Health Outreach Prevention Education center in Tulsa.
About 25 percent of people with hepatitis C develop cirrhosis, or scarring, of the liver, and 1 percent to 5 percent die from the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The recently approved drugs can be prohibitively expensive for people without insurance, Tatum said.
Victrelis costs about $1,050 a week, meaning a full course of treatment would be about $50,000. Both companies offer assistance programs to help people pay for the drugs, which should be available in pharmacies this month.
Everyone at risk of having the disease should be screened and, if they have it, talk to a gastroenterologist about treatment options. Those at risk include anyone who has ever injected or snorted illicit drugs, anyone who has had a sexual partner with hepatitis C and anyone who had a blood transfusion before 1991.
"Now we've got to get the message out," Tatum said.
Where to get tested
Hepatitis C testing is available at HOPE, 3540 E. 31st St. Walk in Monday and Thursday between 5 and 8 p.m. or call 918-749-8378 to make an appointment. Cost is $20.
For more information about ongoing clinical trials for hepatitis C treatment, call 918-513-3473 or email melynda.reed@okgastro.com.
Shannon Muchmore 918-581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com
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