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Two new treatments are coming out - Zepatier (Merck) and velpatasvir with sofosbuvir. Vel + SOF is pangenotypic and had a 99% cure rate in GT 1b. There are some rare SVRs that occur between end of treatment and the post treatment 12 week labs.
Lucinda thank you!!! Ok I understand about extending the treatment. Are you talking about sofosbuvir or is it a completely new drug? Her doc recommended sofosbuvir plus daklinza plus ribavirin but the cost of the treatment is close to 100k and no guarantees as he explained that sofosbuvir and veikira are similar drugs, the other one may not work as well. All I'm reading now is happy reviews about people achieving SVR at week 4 of veikira and we are week 11 still no SVR
Obviously only her doc can make that kind of recommendation, but research suggests that there is no value by extending the length of treatment. In these cases, if she doesn't have an SVR, her doc might recommend her for a different treatment. Two more are coming out in 2106. Also, she can still have an SVR even if she is detectable at this point.
Lucinda I was reading your blog and amazed at how involved you are! It is an amazing blog with great explanations. maybe you could give me your opinion too, because at this point we have none to rely on, the doctor doesn't know what to do and abbvie doesn't give any straight-forward answers. Please help my mom! She is 53 y.o, has genotype 1b, fibrosis stage 2-3 according to fibroscan, but no cirrhosis, previously treated unsuccessfully with interferon and ribavirin( she could not tolerate the components). She has been taking Veikira for 10 weeks already, the virus is still detectable in the amount 60-100 iu/ml, it has dropped from her original viral load but it stopped going down now and for the last 3 weeks it has been detected in the same amount. but according to the clinical trials the virus should be undetectable by week 4. We are very worried by week 12 she won't be cured. Should we extend the treatment to 24 weeks? Should we buy more veikira or do it with ribavirin as well? It is only recommended for patients with 1a or cirrhosis but her case is different from those in trials. Please help!
Lana
I appreciate your help so much. All the best to you!!
January 5, 2016