PHILADELPHIA — Three million Americans suffer from Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection, with baby boomers representing a large proportion of those infected.
Penn Medicine is part of nationwide team of researchers whose recent findings shows promise in curing between 94 and 99 percent of cases of previously untreated and those who failed prior HCV treatment. The findings were both presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver and published simultaneously online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The simple oral regimen, a 12-week course of antiviral drugs ledipasvir and sofosbuvir have shown success in treating patients with HCV genotype 1, a form of the virus found in up to 75 percent of infections.
The results were equally as astounding in both patients who had previously failed available HCV treatment and those who had never been treated for HCV. Previous HCV medications came with a variety of significant side effects, including influenza-like symptoms, depression and anemia, making many patients ineligible for these interferon-based treatments. Study results showed that the new treatment regimen all but eliminates these side effects.
Penn researchers, led by K. Rajender Reddy, MD, professor of Medicine and medical director of Hepatology/Transplantation Hepatology, were the regional leaders in this and earlier research that showed great success and similar results with a longer treatment time of 12 to 24 weeks, as opposed to 8 to 12 weeks.
HCV can lead to chronic hepatitis which can become cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. Hepatitis C is the most common cause for liver transplantation in the US.
“The new drug regimen represents an extraordinary medical advancement and a new option for patients who have suffered for many years in trying to control their disease,” says Reddy. “A cure is now a reality.”
For additional details, see the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center press release.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.