Will Experimental Drugs Be Allowed for Hep C Outbreak Victims?
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Expert: New treatments for hepatitis C patients
By Aaron Sanborn
June 27, 2012
EXETER — A nationally recognized hepatitis C expert from Massachusetts General Hospital told patients infected in the Exeter Hospital hepatitis C outbreak that they may have the option of receiving some cutting edge medication that could treat the infection with few complications.
Dr. Raymond Chung, medical director of the liver transplant program at Massachusetts General Hospital, was the main speaker at a special hepatitis C information night Tuesday at Town Hall. About 100 people attended the meeting hosted by state Rep. Lee Quandt and recently formed patient-advocacy group The Patients Speak.
Chung told the crowd he has been in talks with developers of a new oral treatment for the virus, and they have expressed interest in applying for a “compassion use waiver” with the Food and Drug Administration to use the new treatment exclusively on patients infected in the Exeter Hospital outbreak.
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4 Comments
The recently infected in New Hampshire are at minimal risk as there is plenty of time to develop an easy cure since the course of Hep C is normally 20-30 years. Those in need of ‘compassion are those at the end of that time frame. This country is facing a looming Hep c crisis. One would think that the enormous cost would be weighed and decisive action be taken. But no, a lot of positioning to reap the profits is adding time that some folks dont have. I do realize the profit motive is not a bad thing necessarily.
artic.. before it can be used on the scale that you described in your post,,, this new treatment that is not even out for this public population “hepatitis c crisis ” which you so expressed – has to be used in clinical research to measure its effectiveness on the genotypes and the detrimental effects on ones health as well. imagine if it was put into the use that you described and the mass uncontrolled clinical study patients continued to not respond , and there hepatitis c evolved at a more expedient rate, therefore dying quicker, yes there would be lawsuits galore…that is the reason why the clinical research will continue to 2015.. before this is put out in to general population for treatment … for hepatitis c
Is this the start of the deserving and the undeserving?I hope not!! I agree with both artic and dud…., the only combo that this suggests, is the GS7977 and daclatasvir combo, this is the only combo that has had this momentum, though Gillead who own 7977, do not wish to collaborate with Bristol Myers and are looking more to their less sucesful own NS5 inhibitor- the drug was already in trials when Gillead bought Pharmassett, who developed 7977- despite the overwhelming success in Phase III – Gillead pulled out- however as these treatments have only been in phase III trials then they cant usually be used until FDA approval- the other possibilities of other combo’s are all at phase II or even lesser in development terms, their is no way they can be used!!
As far as how long people have got before consequences, this all depends on a host of factors- like existing disease, age, sex, race, alcohol and other drug use etc etc.
I believe it is the hospital stalling for time to look into buying people off with quick payouts, whilst doing this they are scaring people – because statistically 2 in 10 people clear the virus naturallyand as artic says it can (dependant on those factors above) take 20-30 years before being at the stage to require treatment- % wise -most will die of something else, and after scaring them they are giving them false hope-
We should all be pissed at Gillead for pulling out of the deal because it means delaying treatment for those who cannot handle the standard Interferon/ribavirin treatment. It is unconscionable for them to delay when there are people who need the treatment, who will die because of it.