Mumbai: A 59-year-old Reema Rai (name changed), who was HCV positive since 2013, was treated with injections for alomst year which she didn’t respond to during that time. She was later given oral medications which were available then (Sofosbuvir+Daclatasvir). The old-known therapy which was available before oral medications was interferon and Ribavirin. Nothing seemed to help her deal with it. Then, she visited Global Hospital, where she was given new oral medications.
At Global Hospital, she was treated with then available HCV oral drugs Sofosbuvir and Velpatasvir along with one more drug Ribavirin for six months. The patient responded to the treatment and has cleared the virus. If she would have failed to clear the virus then it could have put her at the risk of progression of liver disease and liver cancer as well.
Dr Samir Shah, Head of Hepatology at Global Hospital Parel, said, “The patient was treated for a long time with multiple drugs regime. But, we helped her tackle HCV; by just selecting proper group of treatment and adding one more drug Ribavirin to that. The patient is fine now.” At Global Hospitals, 193 patients have been treated with new oral medicines and the response rate noted is 98 per cent.
A data of 946 Hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients from eight centres in India was compiled Dr Mrunal Kamat, Senior Clinical Research Cordinator at Global Hospital informed that this data is published under title “Findings from a large Asian chronic hepatitis C real‐life study.” This data revealed that 95 per cent of patients from India could be cleared of the virus.
The original compound costs around Rs 54,35,776 (US$78075) for 3 months therapy. Whereas, generic drugs available in India cost approximately Rs 30,000 for 3 months treatment. They are as effective as the original compound. These findings were presented in poster presentation at APASL 2016.
