So, Hep C cured.

Khane_sl said:

Listen dude, it's unfortunate that you have this terrible disease but don't use that as some crutch to lambaste people who disagree with you and then try to guilt them about giving you shit.

There is also a long history on the internet of people fabricating illnesses to garner attention and sympathy.

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Not me, I can pay for the treatment , but I feel really sorry for those who can?t, lots of people just wait for the cure, try to understand . And my example above depicts the current situation really clear what?s happening right now:

We cannot allow more people to die from a treatable and curable disease and must learn the lessons from HIV advocacy by demanding affordable drug pricing for all, now! Failure to learn these lessons would be an unforgiveable scandal:
http://doctorsoftheworld.org/wp-cont...-09DEC2013.pdf

Frenzied Wombat_sl said:

So the millions of people in the US that have Hep C, and if there has already been a cure since the '90's, are all these people still currently infected because the side effects were too bad, they can't afford treatment, or because the existing treatment hasn't worked? Not disputing what you are saying, but trying to understand why there are millions of people still infected if there's already a cure.

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Because, because it's an infection, especially one that mutates so rapidly and is hard to treat, those who do decide to go on treatment can FAIL. That is why Gilead's new drug isindicatedfor naive patients, and especially those who are genotype 2 and 3. I have had MANY patients who have tried treatment (Ribavirin + Interferon, and then Ribavirin + Interferon + Protease Inhibitor) only for them to fail. PEOPLE DO NOT like to take interferons. You think the flu is bad? Try having the flu x1000 with substantial mental effects along with it. The new drugs that are in the pipeline are ones that are geared towards patients who are both naive and have previously failed treatment. And, they do not want to take interferon.


BTW, typical HepC treatment is 24-48 weeks. Pegasys (it's the drug that I worked on when I was at Genentech) is about $1400/month. Now, interferon cannot work on its own, so we need Ribavirin, typically in the form of Ribapak. Ribapak is about $600/month. Lets say you fail treatment the first time, or second time. Or you're naive. Lets add in Telapravir (Incivek), which is a protease inhibitor. This one drug is $20,000/month. Luckily, it is only prescribed for 3 months.

HepC treatment is *very* expensive. The patients who get HepC do *NOT* have that kind of money. I can guarantee you on this.