Novartis has gained exclusive rights to develop and market Debio 025 (alisporivir), a potential first-in-class antiviral agent currently in Phase IIb development for the treatment of hepatitis C. Debio 025 is the first in a new class of drugs called cyclophilin inhibitors which could become part of the future standard of [...]

The Institute of Medicine, a branch of the US National Academy of Sciences, is urging healthcare providers to take steps to battle liver-damaging hepatitis B and C, which are often overlooked viruses. Surprisingly, hepatitis B and C together infect three to five times more Americans than the AIDS virus does. In the next 10 years, [...]

Failure to adhere to treatment regimens is a common problem among patients treated for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The costs associated with non-adherence are high, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of Value in Health.

The likelihood of treatment success of 48 wk peg-interferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) therapy for chronic hepatitis C may be predicted by viral kinetics on therapy. In particular, recent studies have shown that sustained virological response (SVR) can be predicted by a rapid virological response (RVR), and an early virological response (EVR). Nevertheless, the current [...]

Researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) determined that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) who consumed more than 308 mg of caffeine daily had milder liver fibrosis. The daily amount of caffeine intake found to be beneficial is equivalent to 2.25 cups of regular coffee. Other sources [...]