Hepatitis C patients petition for life-saving drug combination
SAN ANTONIO — South Texas patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have launched a petition to speed up development of some promising new drugs. They believe a pharmaceutical company is putting profits ahead of people.
Hepatitis C is a virus that attacks the liver. It’s the number one reason for liver transplants in the U.S. It kills more people than AIDS.
Two promising pills from two different drug makers showed a 100 percent cure rate in early clinical trials when combined. GS-7977 is made by Gilead. Daclatasvir is from Bristol-Myers Squibb. But the companies have each invested millions and cannot agree on moving forward to get the winning combination to patients which could save their lives.
