Daily tablet Epclusa could wipe out killer blood-borne virus Hepatitis C

FOUND: A cure for the hepatitis C virus that hit Body Shop's Anita as experts believe new tablet could kill the deadly bug in three months

• Daily tablet Epclusa could wipe out killer blood-borne virus Hepatitis C 
• Bug attacks the liver can can cause cancer but new drug can block it
• Pill stops virus copying itself to spread allowing the body to clear it
• But NHS has yet to make a decision on whether to fund it in the UK 

By HILARY FREEMAN and ANNA POINTER FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED: 21:03 GMT, 6 August 2016 | UPDATED: 01:50 GMT, 7 August 2016



Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, pictured, lived with hepatitis C for three years before her death in 2007 of an unrelated brain haemorrhage

A new daily tablet hailed by experts as ‘a cure’ for hepatitis C could eradicate the killer virus in just three months, if all patients can access the treatment.

The drug breakthrough means every type of the disease in existence in Britain can now be treated.

However a decision on whether an already cash-strapped NHS will agree to fund it is yet to be made.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that destroys the liver and can cause cancer, leaving sufferers needing a transplant.

The new pill works by blocking two stages of the virus’s life cycle, stopping it from making copies of itself.

This gives the body time to clear it completely. Studies show a 98 per cent cure rate in 12 weeks.

There are six types of hepatitis C, with the majority of sufferers in the UK infected by genotypes one and three (46 per cent and 43 per cent respectively).

Genotype three is the hardest to treat and people with this type tend to become ill more rapidly.

The new tablet, Epclusa, which was licensed for use in the UK last month, is a combination of two anti-viral drugs, Sofosbuvir, which was licenced last year, and a newer medication Velpatasvir.

Unlike the older treatments – Interferon and Ribavirin – Epclusa does not cause debilitating side effects.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3726833/FOUND-cure-hepatitis-C-virus-hit-Body-Shop-s-Anita-experts-believe-new-tablet-kill-deadly-bug-three-months.html

FDA approves Epclusa for treatment of chronic Hepatitis C virus infection

First regimen to treat all six major HCV genotypes
For Immediate Release
June 28, 2016

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm508915.htm