Today we bring you a staggering story about a UK-based surgeon who was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2008.

One of the biggest Hepatitis C stories of 2016

Jump to 2016: Yesterday more than 8000 of his former patients were mailed an invitation to take a Hepatitis C drug test and the story quickly hit the headlines of the most reputed news broadcasters such as BBC, DailyMail, The Guardian, Independent and Telegraph just to name a few.

The Surgeon

While NHS, UK's National Health Service, refuses to reveal the identity of the surgeon in question, they did notify the public the surgeon was largely based in and around the city of  Lanarkshire and have been practicing since 1982. Everybody over 26 years of age who was being treated was contacted to come to one of NHS's clinics for a quick and easy Hepatitis C testing.

NHS reported that the surgeon did not continue with the clinical practice after testing positive for Hepatitis C. 

Nonetheless, during those 26 years, more than 8000 people were being treated by the unrevealed doctor. All in all, 8,383 of former patients were contacted and notified that they are strongly recommended to take a Hepatitis C test. 8,031 are based in Scotland, 336 in England, 11 in Wales and 5 in North Ireland. 

Why did NHS wait 8 years before coming clean to the patients?

What is interesting in this case is the timing. Usually when a person is for example tested positive for HIV, they should immediately contact every sexual partner they had to warn them about the possibility of retracting HIV from them. This makes much sense since HIV is primarily transmitted via sexual intercourse. 

However, in this case with Hepatitis C, where we have an active surgeon treating more than 8,000 patients, NHS decided to remain quiet for 8 years. There is a low chance of getting infected with Hepatitis C via the surgical procedure but considering the seriousness of the disease and the sheer number of patients that were involved, many believe NHS should take the steps of bringing these patients to Hepatitis C test in 2008. Not in 2016.

So what make NHS change its mind all of a sudden?

Two patients contracted Hepatitis C while being treated

Until quite recently, it was discovered that two of the former patients that were being treated by an infected health care worker, has tested positive for Hepatitis C and are in need of treatment. The rationale here goes in the following way: if 2 patients had contracted Hepatitis C, then there is obviously a risk that any of the 8,000 patients who were being treated by the same person in a similar manner also had a chance, no matter how slim, to contract the disease. 

While arguments are being raised that NHS has been thus far dishonest about the subject and only came forward when it was 'caught in the act' with these two Hepatitis C positive patients, the administration of 2008 is refusing the be blamed for the incident.
Professor David Goldberg, UKAP chairman at the time, stated for the record that there was no available evidence about the possibility of surgeon's former patients to retract Hepatitis C.

Mr. Goldberg stated 'I think it's a very reasonable decision. It wasn't the wrong decision based on the evidence we had at the time.' He added that there is less than 1 in 1,000 chance that former patients being at risk of contracting Hepatitis C. 

Nonetheless, doing the math, 1 in 1,000 patients out of 8,000 patients would yield a total of 8 Hepatitis C patients. Now only 8 lives are thus at stake, NHS will have to care about treating them - and as we all know, being treated for Hepatitis C became easy but it also became much more expensive. The most sold Hepatitis C cure, Harvoni (90mg ledipasvir/ 400mg sofosbuvir), costs £39,000. For 8 patients, that would be more than £300,000 in total.

A very important thing for the former patients now is to respond to the call: Hepatitis C is a serious disease with no apparent side effects, and the only way to be sure you're not being infected by it is by taking the test. We do hope that all of 8,383 former patients will be tested and no-one will be infected. However, if some of them prove to be Hepatitis C positive...

Fortunately all of this is happening in the age of Sofosbuvir

... they can now be easily and effectively treated. 

In 2008, there was no miracle cure for Hepatitis C. The best the medical science had to offer were interferon injections with severe side effects, half a year long treatment and only about 50% cure rate.

Since 2013, pharmaceutical industry has been actively developing new Hepatitis C drugs such as Sovaldi and Harvoni, based on sofosbuvir drug molecule, Daklinza, based on daclatasvir, and a few others. 

Message to ALL Hepatitis C patients

Such instances are tragedies that people can barely climb over. Especially problematic here is the cost of Hepatitis C treatment. The UK case has shown us that many people can get Hepatitis C in the most innocent circumstances imaginable; but all of them will have to get the costly treatment. While NHS might admit it's mistake and foot the bill for all the patients that were infected by the undisclosed surgeon, most of Hepatitis C patients don't have the luxury of the government paying for their Hepatitis C treatment.

For all Hepatitis C patients in need of medications: Please do turn to Dr. Freeman for help. Contact us at FixHepC Buyers Club and we will make sure you will get your medications in a timely fashion and for a fraction of the cost of the original medications. 
 

"What would have taken a hundred years for us to achieve, is now at hand!" were the first words of Prof. Angelos Hatzakis who serves at EU Council in Brussels as a co-chair of Hepatitis B and C Public Policy Association. In light of recent discoveries, Europe has presented the so-called Hepatitis C Elimination Manifesto the purpose of which is to leverage European political power to secure a Hepatitis C free Europe by 2030.

On February 17 2016, the European Council has identified Hepatitis C as a 'silent epidemic in EU' and set out a plan on how to exterminate the very resilient viral liver infection. This is made possible by the recent discovery of sofosbuvir drug molecule and FDA approval for Sovaldi (400mg sofosbuvir) to be used to treat chronic Hepatitis C in as early as 2013. This has spurred the innovation in pharmaceutical industry as far as treating Hepatitis C is concerned, and as the result we have more than 5 very effective cures with which to fight Hepatitis C.

 

Hepatitis C Elimination Manifesto in Europe

In a key-note speech, Commissioner of Health and Food Safety (very similar to FDA in the US) Vytenis Andriukaitis, has demonstrated a strong resolve: "Hepatitis C has in the past been referred to as a "silent" epidemic within the European Union. It is high time that we brought this "silent" epidemic out of the shadows and into the light, so I welcome initiatives such as this Summit and the Elimination Manifesto to create momentum for action, for raising awareness and for stimulating discussion".

The policies that will drive Hepatitis C elimination in Europe were summed up. The purpose of the Hepatitis C Elimination Manifesto is to:

• Make hepatitis C and its elimination in Europe an explicit public health priority to be pursued at all levels
• Ensure that patients, civil society groups and other relevant stakeholders are directly involved in developing and implementing hepatitis C elimination strategies
• Pay particular attention to the links between hepatitis C and social marginalisation
• Introduce a European Hepatitis Awareness Week

This resolve will have a big impact on European public health and everybody connected to it.

Immigration only adds to Hepatitis C 'silent epidemic'

The new waves of immigrants to Europe is only adding Hepatitis C patients Europe will have to care of according to the Manifesto. In general, people immigrating to Europe from Syria and other Muslim countries thus far not been granted an access as efficient healthcare system as Europeans. As a result, the prevalence of Hepatitis C in people coming to Europe is greater and the extent to which Hepatitis C can reach if left unchecked, is now becoming far broader.

The Manifesto takes into the account the new-comers to Europe and has been, in the opinion of some policy leaders, created because of the extra Hepatitis C inflow into Europe that is happening today.

European Hepatitis C in numbers

This is the state of Hepatitis C in Europe.

• There are 15 million Hepatitis C patients in Europe alone
• Around 30,000 new patients are being diagnosed annually
• Hepatitis C is 7 times more prevalent than HIV
• Death related to Hepatitis C or Hepatitis C related illnesses have been rising in recent years. Data even suggests that in some countries the death toll in last 20 years went up more than 4 times

All in all, Hepatitis C in Europe is just as problematic as in the US or in Australia.

Who pays for Hepatitis C?

Here's the catch. The meeting on Hepatitis C was bought and paid for by pharmaceutical industry - companies such as AbbVie, BMS, Gilead and MSD. One might notice that all of these companies sell Hepatitis C treatments at extremely high cost - you can't get a Hepatitis C treatment below $50,000 from any of them. 

For example, Merck (MSD) paid for the meeting not even a month after they introduced their first Hepatitis C drug Zepatier.

If we take into account that the prices for Hepatitis C drugs will go down because of new Zepatier drug (which costs $54,600 in the US) and because governments can negotiate better deals, we might be even so courageous to state that Europe will have to pay $50,000 per one patients.

With 15 million patients and more coming every year, this is a $750 billion market. Now the incentive why all these pharmaceutical companies paying for European Council meeting become very much obvious. Carving even a small piece of that cake is literally worth 10s of billions of dollars. 

Europe, you're behind Dr. Freeman

Let us take one moment and realizing what Doctor Freeman is doing for all Hepatitis C patients. While big pharma is paying for legitimising their way of business that draws from tax-payers money, draining health care system and insurance companies, Dr. Freeman is a way before his time - more than a year before Europe even started discussing about curing the whole continent of Hepatitis C, Dr. Freeman already stated not talking or making policies - but actually curing Hepatitis C patients with affordable medications. 

While Abbvie, Gilead, Merck and BMS would need more than $750 billion to cure Europe, Dr. Freeman can procure Hepatitis C drugs for considerably lower costs directly from China. In such a way, treatment costs are lowered from over $50,000 to less than $2,000 per patients. Contact Dr. Freeman at FixHepC.com Buyers Club and we will work together to get you the medicines that Europe will be able to provide, if all works out as planned, by 2030 to every European citizen.



 

In the world of Hepatitis C patients, Twinvir started to pick on mythical proportions. It seldom happens that a generic drug, no matter how successful, becomes so quickly known to the patients who need it. Twinvir pills (sofosbuvir 400 mg / ledipasvir 90 mg) produced by Incepta Pharmaceuticals in currently one of the best-selling generic medications in the world. How did these pills from Bangladesh get so popular and well known?

Twinvir is a generic version of Harvoni - Meet Joe

Let's put ourselves in the shoes of Joe, a Hepatitis C patient, in late 2013. When Joe was diagnosed with genotype 1, he was told that he had Hepatitis C for more than 10 years but now things are starting to go bad for his liver. He needs a cure as soon as possible.

At that time the only cure available was treatment with interferon injections and supplemented by ribavirin pills. If Joe went with this treatment, there were 50% chances he'll get well in half a year. However, there is also 50% of chances that his liver will not respond to treatment.

New sofosbuvir-based treatment

Luckily, in December 2013 he got another option for treatment. Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, had just developed and started to market a Hepatitis C wonder drug called Sovaldi (sofosbuvir 400mg). According to clinical trials, the cure rate is more than 90% in only 12-week treatment. The newly developed Harvoni is even better. With his life in danger, Joe was very happy to see the miracle of modern science and was more than willing to go on treatment. 
However, what Joe did not plan is the price of the treatment. The price tag of Harvoni was $94,5000 per treatment. The meds do save lives but $94,500 is still a very large sum. This is where Twinvir enters the story.

Twinvir in third world countries

The company producing Harvoni, Gilead Sciences, was reaping sales record all over the US and Europe. However, they had major problems with third world countries - not only did they knew barely anybody in lets say India or Egypt will be able to afford the medicine at high prices, India additionally challenged Gilead because of the lack of innovation that went into developing the sofosbuvir molecule (it really does look like other antivirals). Consequently, as a matter of good will, Gilead gave licences to several Indian and other companies, including Incepta Pharmaceuticals, to produce generic Sovaldi and Harvoni. 

Twinvir is thus a miracle drug that was brought to market with quite a miraculous way. Usually, pharmaceutical companies use patents on molecules to keep generics out of the game for 10 years or more. However, Twinvir was being produced, sold and used for treatment only a good year after the first launch of Sovaldi. Produced in Bangladesh, many Hepatitis C patients from the US, Australia and Europe were looking a way to get the necessary medications - but why looking for Twinvir when you have the original version of Harvoni at your local pharmacy?

Twinvir cost - A $1000 price tag

Here the main reason why our patient Joe decided to go to Bangladesh and produce Twinvir - the cost of Twinvir. While Harvoni in the US costs $94,500, exactly the same pills (generic version) costs less than $1,000 in Bangladesh and India. This miraculous drug at low cost is known as Twinvir, and because many patients had a very good incentive to get it, Twinvir's availability and recognition came with it. 

There is a major difference between price of Twinvir and Harvoni but no difference in effectiveness. Generic medications have to be by regulation of equal effectiveness (measured by comparing bioavailability of both Twinvir and Harvoni) than the originals. What is more, in this case Gilead practically have the plans how to create sofosbuvir pills to Incepta as a part of their licencing agreement. 

Hepatitis C tourism to India to get Twinvir and other Hepatitis C drugs

When Gilead representatives were asked how will they fight patients seeking the low-priced Twinvir and other sofosbuvir-based medications from India, Gilead EVP Gregg Alton told the news service: "We aren't surprised; we knew this was going to happen. This is a reality of having these types of programs. As soon as a gray market develops, there isn't much we can do to control it at a pharmacy level."

In short, patients who are going to die without a cure, will rather seek out $1,000 cure than the $94,500. This is not surprising but it may not be 100% legal to do so. Nevertheless, as Gilead has little control over what patients can do, there is another factor to include - a moral factor. It is understood that pharmaceutical companies spend money for drug research, development, marketing and other costs, and still reap the enormous corporate profits. However, from moral standpoint, when lives are at risk, the business model should at least party change. In other words, if you have developed a cure for Hepatitis C, you are at least partially obligated to help Hepatitis C patients. 

What Gilead is actually doing is putting enormous price tags on the developed drugs - which is more considered health profiteering than helping people in need. People seeking Twinvir overseas is a natural response of the population that desperately needs the medicines. If you can get a whole treatment regimen of Twinvir for a single pill of Harvoni, you will be very inclined to buy it. 

In the end, Joe will more than likely decide to buy Twinvir than Harvoni. 

Here you can see a short video about Incepta's Twinvir, a low-cost version of Harvoni.

Twinvir on FixHepC.com forum

We had a lot of talk about Twinvir on our forum at FixHepC.com, and you're welcome to see what opinions patients had shared about Twinvir and ask them anything about the meds. Remember, they are the ones who have first-hand experience with it. You can access our forum here.

As always, there is a very easy and save legitimate way of getting generic Sovaldi or Harvoni. You can contact Dr. James Freeman and us and we'll help you get the medicines you need.

 

Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical giant, has launched very effective yet pricey drug for the Hepatitis C patients. The company justifies the $94,500 price of Harvoni and $84,000 for Sovaldi for a 12 week course on the basis of its success rate at curing the disease and preventing future costs of hospitalization, liver cancer and transplants.

Discovery of Sofosbuvir - One of the most effective Hepatitis C treatment molecules

The drug can save the patient from spending a fortune on a new liver if everything else fails. Gilead Sciences put billions of dollars in research and development; the result was the discovery of sofosbuvir - an active drug molecule that treats Hepatitis C. 400 mg of Sofosbuvir is present in Sovaldi costing around $1000 a pill while Harvoni is comprised both of sofosbuvir and ledispasvir. The price of a single Harvoni pill is $1,125.

Gilead gives licences production of Sovaldi and Harvoni in India, driving down the costs

The cost of treating Hepatitis C is very high in the U.S. and the insurers, employers and U.S. Health programs have raised an outcry against the hefty price of Harvoni. However, Gilead Sciences gave license to produce generic versions of Harvoni to several Indian generic pharmaceutical companies. Since majority of Indian population earns much less than the US population, India has been treated as a special case and the Indian government has negotiated a deal with Gilead to produce Sovaldi at $300 per bottle and $900 for 12 weeks course, costing just 1% of what the treatment cost in U.S. In part this happened because India failed to recognize the innovation by Gilead that went into discovering the miracle Hepatitis C treatment.

Here is how much Harvoni costs around the world.

Buying Harvoni and Sovaldi in India

There are several generic versions of Harvoni available by licensed Indian pharmaceutical companies at reduced prices, which include drugs like MyHep, Ledifos, Hepcinat, Twinvir, Hepcinat LP and Hepcvir. Thus, there has been a rise in Hepatitis C Tourism as more and more patients are flying towards India to get cheaper treatment for their disease. The patients without sufficient insurance to cover the costs of Harvoni are already on the move; there is no Medicaid or state-funded program available for them in the U.S. so they are jetting to India for treatment.

One of the patients landed in Chennai and apart from his $2000 travelling and hotel expense, he paid $1000 for the treatment and saved US$80,000.

Ordering Harvoni Online

However, the patient of Hepatitis C does not necessarily have to travel all the way to India to get the medicines which they can conveniently order online. Although, in most cases, buying medicines online is mostly discouraged, but there are some reputable and credible suppliers such as FixHepC.com that deliver life-saving Hepatitis C treatment worldwide in just 1-3 weeks.

If you go on your own, this is what you need to do: you need to contact credible pharmaceutical companies in India that have been given the license to produce generic Harvoni and talk to them about your condition. You need to send a doctor’s prescription and identity proof and an invoice will be sent by their side. You will be required to give your address and chose the payment mode to place the order. Once the payment has been made, the drug will be shipped to your home. Although, travelling to India for the treatment of Hepatitis C is a common sight and companies are even setting up medical related trips for their employees, but it is more a feasible option to order the drug online from licensed companies and save the travelling expense. In the end, the main purpose of the Hepatitis C patients is to get the drug which does not necessarily means to travel abroad.

If you let FixHepC.com help you, we will arrange everything for you and secure shipment of active molecules such as sofosbuvir and ledipasvir on your behalf. Contact us with your needs and we will work together to get you the Hepatitis C medications you're in need of.

Hepatitis C is an infection that leads to the inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C can be transmitted from person to person in various ways; the most predominant via the use of drug injections (60%) as you can see on the pie chart on the right.

What does the liver do?

The liver is responsible for so many essential tasks in the body; it processes blood and filters toxins and ensures no harm will come to your body via their action. The liver is also tasked with producing bile which helps in food digestion, and stores glucose and vitamins. 

Liver inflammation

When the liver undergoes inflammation, it gets extremely difficult for it to carry out all its important tasks. Hepatitis C infection has an effect on the entire body when left untreated for a long time. Hepatitis C has some very subtle symptoms that can be looked out for - its early symptoms include fatigue and yellowing of the skin. These are mild and are unfortunately easily dismissed. As the infection is left free to grow, other serious symptoms such as fever, skin problems and blood disorder may appear.

Liver cirrhosis and the importance of Hep C treatment

Chronic liver infection leads to liver cirrhosis - the scarring of the liver. Treating Hepatitis C early helps prevent serious damage. On the other hand, leaving it untreated for years on end can lead to severe damage of the liver itself, liver cancer and consequently reduction in liver function.

Here is a short intro about liver anatomy and function.

Hepatitis C and Digestive System

The liver performs many functions that are crucial to the wellbeing of the body. One of the most important of which is the production of the substance that is needed to break down fat - bile. The bile is stored in the gallbladder and sent to the beginning section of the small intestine (duodenum). The bile is then combined with stomach acids and digestive fluids from the pancreas; this helps the intestines in absorbing nutrients into the bloodstream. Hepatitis C severely hinders the bile production ability of the liver.

Inflammation also makes digesting food, especially food rich in fat very painful, This causes pain in the upper right portion of the abdomen in infected persons. This is due to a build-up of fluid in the stomach (ascites). A healthy liver produces just the right amount of albumin; this is a protein that helps regulate the amount of fluid in cells; however, a damaged liver does not produce enough albumin and this leads to fluid build-up in the stomach causing pain.

There are some other digestive symptoms to look out for; including vomiting, loss of appetite and nausea. Additionally, stool may become clay-colored or pale, and urine may darken.

Hepatitis C and Central Nervous System

Toxins cause damage to the central nervous system; however, a healthy liver filters these toxins and ensures your body is free of them. When the liver is damaged, it ability to filter these toxins is greatly hampered and the toxins can damage the central nervous system (hepatic encephalopathy). This leads to a variety of symptoms which include weakening of motor skills, sleep disturbances, and sweet or musty breath.

When these symptoms are ignored and the toxins are left to build up, they damage the brain causing confusion, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness and personality changes. If still left untreated, advanced symptoms that may come up include disorientation, agitation, abnormal shaking and slurred speech. In severe cases, a coma might occur.

Hepatitis C and Circulatory System

Apart from the cleansing of toxins from the bloodstream, the liver does the vital function of producing proteins that are needed for a healthy blood and to regulate blood clotting (liver synthesis of coagulation factors). A liver that is not functioning properly creates blood flow problems and increases pressure in the portal vein (the vein that leads to the liver). This causes portal hypertension. Blood is then forced to find an alternate vein to flow through; if a smaller vein is unfortunately chosen, the vein would burst and lead to variceal bleeding (serious internal bleeding).

The liver also extracts iron from the blood and stores it for later use; however, a poorly functioning liver is unable to do that which can result in anemia. Additionally, the liver converts sugars into glucose and then stores it for energy in the form of glycogen. Having too much sugar in the bloodstream leads to insulin resistance and causes type 2 diabetes.

Hepatitis C antibodies in the bloodstream can be detected by carrying out a simple blood test. If antibodies are discovered, it means you have been exposed to the virus. In most cases, a second blood test is needed to confirm a hepatitis C diagnosis.

Hepatitis C and Skin, Hair, and Nails (Integumentary System)

The red blood cells contain a protein molecule called hemoglobin; it helps transports oxygen to cells throughout the body. To obtain and sustain healthy skin, nails and hair, iron is crucial.

Another important substance in hemoglobin is bilirubin. When the liver is incapable of doing its job, bilirubin builds up, causing jaundice (a condition where the skin and the white of the eyes turns yellow).

Hepatitis C and Endocrine and Immune System 

Hormones are regulated by the endocrine system. The thyroid gland which is part of the endocrine system, delivers hormones into the bloodstream. Hepatitis C sometimes causes the immune system to attack and damage thyroid tissues. This can lead to hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid); this in turn causes weight loss and sleep disorders.

It can also cause hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) which makes you feel and act sluggishly. Research carried out by the Hepatitis Trust has shown that this condition is more prevalent in women than in men.

Today I have some good news for Hepatitis C patients with genotype 1 or genotype 4. In the beginning of February 2016, pharmaceutical giant Merck has entered Hepatitis C treatment market by introducing a completely new drug. Under its trademark, it is known as Zepatier.


What is more, Zepatier consists of a completely new set of drug molecules - elbasvir and grazoprevir - and is thus different in the mechanism of action from sofosbuvir-based as drugs by Gilead Sciences, Sovaldi and Harvoni. The major difference between this treatment and all the other Hepatitis C treatment that were recently approved by the FDA is the price of Zepatier. Zepatier costs only $54,600 per treatment in the US which compared with Harvoni's price tag of $94,500 is quite a reduction. However, albeit Zepatier is cheaper and will add competition that will hopefully drive down the prices, the costs of being treated for Hepatitis C are and will in the near future remain enormous. This is exactly why we at FixHepC.com are bypassing the system established and paid for by pharmaceutical industry to provide you with affordable Hepatitis C treatments and make it available for everybody in need of them.

Who is Zepatier for - Genotype 1 and 4

Pretty much anybody having Hepatitis C is aware that there are 6 genotypes of Hepatitis C. If you are wondering what sofosbuvir-based treatment is best for you, you can read about genotype specific treatments here. Not all medications treat all genotypes - for example Harvoni, being arguably one of the best medicines out there, is not used (it is not even registered) to treat Hepatitis C genotype 2.

Zepatier has a more narrow therapeutic potential. It can only be used to treat Hepatitis C patients with genotype 1 or 4. Majority of Hepatitis C patients (54%) are suffering from genotype 1 while only 1% of all patients has genotype 4. This means, roughly speaking, that the new Zepatier drug launched by Merck and approved by FDA is intended to be used in about 55% of all Hepatitis C patients.

Elbasvir and Grazoprevir - Zepatier active substances (APIs)

Before we go into details about Zepatier cure rate (which is comparable with other existing Hepatitis C treatments), let us have a look under the hood of this Merck medicine. APIs or Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients are the ones that make any drug achieve its therapeutic effect. In the case of Harvoni, for example, we have sofosbuvir and ledipasvir as active ingredients, and we already know that for modern Hepatitis C treatment we always use two or more active substances in order to be sure HPV was completely eliminated. 

Elbasvir and grazoprevir are active substances that make Zepatier work. Both of them were originally developed by Merck and designed specifically to treat Hepatitis C. These two molecules represent years of work that Merck's drug discovery department has put in to launch Zepatier. Let us look at elbasvir and grazoprevir more closely. 

Elbasvir Mechanism of Action

The first molecule, elbasvir, has been found to inhibit Hepatitis C virus replication by blocking one of the vital proteins (NS5a) that is essential to the replication process. Elbasvir mechanism of action renders NS5a inactive and thus prevents HPV from making more and more viruses. When the replication is stopped, human immune system does the heavy work by targeting and eliminating the remaining virus.

A great thing about elbasvir is that is is very potent and very selective. Potency means that it inhibits NS5a very effectively even at smaller dosages. This is why Zepatier contains only 50 mg of elbasvir. Selectivity is also crucial - elbasvir inhibits NS5a and only NS5a - this means that it does not alter other important processes. Both of these qualities are very important when it comes to Zepatier side effects. Namely, Zepatier side effects are mild because the high cure rate can be achieved with small dosages of a very selective elbasvir molecule.

Grazoprevir Mechanism of Action

Grazoprevir is a second active substance in Zepatier. Instead of targeting NS5a like elbasvir, grazoprevir mechanism of action is directed at inhibiting Hepatitis C virus proteases. With the function that these proteases perform, the HCV is unable to replicate further and is eliminated over the period of several months by body's immune system.

Grazoprevir mode of action is always used as kind of a side-kick of the primary active substance (elbasvir in the case of Zepatier). A good property of grazoprevir is that is useful as a treatment for more resistant HCV genotypes. 

Zepatier Cure Rate and Side Effects

According to clinical studies done by Merck, Zepatier cure rate is very high. For patients with Hepatitis C genotype 1, it was found that Zepatier cures 94-97% of patients. On the other hand, for genotype 4, the numbers are even higher - 97-100% cure rate. You can read everything about how the studies were set up at Merck' Zepatier press release. Some patients are advised to use ribavirin together with Zepatier in order to achieve the best treatment results.

Side effects are mild for a life-saving treatment. These include side effects that are mostly common with other Hepatitis C drugs such as Harvoni and Sovaldi.


Here is a list of Zepatier side effects:

• Nausea
• Tiredness
• Headaches
• Anemia (decrease in number of red blood cells)
• Stomach pain
• Allergic reactions (rashes, irritation)

The Zepatier treatment last for 12 or 16 weeks, depending on the genotype and patient's state, and despite the side effects being mild, they can be very bothersome. Having a feeling of nausea for 3 months is not something that one can tolerate with ease.

Zepatier Cost - $54,600 per treatment

The cost of Zepatier is a major think that distinguishes it from other Hepatitis C drugs. Because Merck prices Zepatier at $54,600 per treatment, the drug has already been called a game changer in Hepatitis C treatment. Harvoni, for example, another Hepatitis C treatment, costs $94,500 per treatment in the US.

The much needed competition is here. Zepatier cost might force other big players such as Gilead Sciences and Abbvie to lower the prices of their Hepatitis C medications. However, if you are in need of Hepatitis C drugs, we at FixHepC.com can provide them for less than $2,000. Contact us with your problems and wishes and we will try our best to help every Hepatitis C patient in need.






 

In a surprising and warm-hearted gesture, the Australian government announced in December 2015 that they will pay for all Hepatitis C medications Australians need. They pledged a whole of $1 billion to the cause.

The announcement came from  Health Minister Sussan Ley, representing Turnbull's government.

Hepatitis C in Australia by numbers

According to Australian Hepatitis C article, 1 out of 100 people in Australia is suffering from Hepatitis C. With 230,000 Hepatitis C patients, trying to tackle the disease with the new sofosbuvir-based regimen might prove difficult, and it will definitely prove very expensive. 

An additional 10,000 patients per year are being reported. The government went above and beyond claiming they don't only want to try to stop the spread of the disease but wipe it out completely. This is now possible thanks to the newly discovered treatment molecules such as sofosbuvir, daclatasvir and ledipasvir. The older ribavirin molecule is included in the treatment of certain genotypes.

The statement is clear

The government wants to wipe out Hepatitis C within a generation. The treatment will be available to every Australian, even those living abroad, and highlights one of the most daring decisions of Australian government as far as healthcare is concerned. 

How does an average Australian get their hands of subsidized Hepatitis C treatment?

Hepatitis C treatment which normally costs most than $80,000 will now be sold in pharmacies all over Australia for as little as  $37.70 for general patients and $6.10 for concessional patients. The rest of the bill will be paid by the government, according to Minister Sussan Ley. This sounds like a very sweet deal for every Hepatitis C patient and the government is enjoying approval for the help but how likely will the pledged $1 billion help all the patients?

One has to be aware that the price of Harvoni (ledipasvir 90 mg/sofosbuvir 400 mg) for Hepatitis C treatment in Australia is still $80,000. Governments can negotiate these prices but as we've seen in France, UK and Germany, the price was be reduced but not significantly. 

Here is a detailed Hepatitis C factsheet for Australian patients. 

$1 billion is enough only for 5% of all Hepatitis C patients

Here is the thing. $1 billion is not nearly enough for everybody to get treated. If you do the math, you will realize that at $80,000 per treatment, $1 billion will be used to treat only 12,500 patients. Out of 230,000 registered Hepatitis C patients in Australia, this is still only 5%. 

Annually around 700 patients die because of Hepatitis C or Hepatitis C related illnesses. With the government donation and healing the total of 5% of patients, the number of deaths would theoretically be reduced to 665 people. Which is still a lot.

What can Hepatitis C patients do to get the medicines?

My advice would be to run directly to your doctor and make use of the subsidized medicines - because with such a demand, the funds will soon run out, and 95% of patients will again be struggling to get the medicines.

This is where FixHepC Buyers Club can help you out. We provide you with tested Hepatitis C drugs such as sofosbuvir, daclatasvir and ledipasvir for around $2,000 per treatment (depending on the genotype and treatment). This is quite a reduction in price compared to $80,000 that would need to be paid for the original Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir). You can contact us with your inquiries and we will to best of our ability help you.

Hypothetical scenario - What is everybody gets treated by FixHepC provided medications?

Australian government is willing to help eradicate Hepatitis C in Australia with $1 billion. Using the original medicine, this will heal about 12,500 while keeping in mind that every year there are 10,000 new patients. This maths proves this approach being quite ineffective.

On the other hand, FixHepC can offer Hepatitis C treatment for as little as $2,000. With these prices, $1 billion would really go a long way in making Hepatitis C medicines accessible to everyone in need of them. Hypothetically, FixHepC could make a good use of this funds and provide Hepatitis C drugs to 500,000 patients.

This means that all 230,000 Australian patients could be treated and with a 95% success rate of treatment, a great majority of them would be cured. This is a way how Australia could wipe out Hepatitis C in less than a year. What is more, the remaining 270,000 treatments could be used to heal patients in other countries such as New Zealand and Indonesia as well. 

That would be a very important statement in the world. Australia would be looked upon as a country that sees beyond its borders and recognized the need for safe medication of all patients, not just the ones with Australian passports. But in the end, this is more or less just a wishful thinking. 

Step into contact with us and we will help you with Hepatitis C needs. 

Hepatitis C has long been a formidable disease with a high death toll and inadequate treatment. However, in the recent years we have seen much more successful treatment options on a backbone of a newly discovered therapeutic molecule called sofosbuvir. 

Sofosbuvir is an antiviral molecule, structurally similar to existing antivirals, but it has proven to be of great benefit to Hepatitis C patients - it almost single-handedly skyrocketed the cure rate from 50% to 95% overnight. This has brought the company which brought it to market under the tradename Sovaldi, and later Harvoni, a tremendous success. This molecule is currently the best-selling pharmaceutical ingredient in the world because it plays an essential role in modern Hepatitis C treatment regimen. Today we will have a look at sofosbuvir mechanism of action.

How Sofosbuvir Works

Essentially, sofosbuvir molecule works by preventing Hepatitis C virus (HCV) to replicate itself. One of the necessary components for replication is the RNA molecule of the virus. In order to make a copy of RNA for the new virus to form, a virus uses an enzyme called RNA polymerase to replicate RNA. Basically, out of 1 existing RNA molecules, and additional RNA is formed in order to be used to construct a new virus and facilitate the propagation of Hepatitis C virus - which for a patient means Hepatitis C will manifest more and more in his or her liver.

Sofosbuvir works by inhibiting enzyme RNA polymerase - the cellular worker that performs the replication process. Being unable to make new viruses due to sofosbuvir mechanism of action, the existing Hepatitis C viruses are at the mercy of patient's immune system which is readily eliminating the virus. Without sofosbuvir, Hepatitis C virus has an ability to rebuilt the lost viruses and build up in the liver. When sofosbuvir, however, is allied with patient's own immune system, there is only a 5% probability that the virus will survive (with appropriate treatment regimen). This is why sofosbuvir has a 95% success rate. 

Sofosbuvir Mechanism of Action

Here is how sofosbuvir molecule looks like in chemical terms. We are about to explain in detail how sofosbuvir works or, in other words, what is sofosbuvir mechanism of action (sofosbuvir MOA).

Sofosbuvir as prodrug

Sofosbuvir is a prodrug - this means that the molecule is chemically changed to a therapeutically useful molecule in a human body. If you look on the structure (on the right); the left part of the molecule remains unchanged while the right part surrounded around P (phosporous atom) will readily change into a therapeutic form with the help of enzymes in the body. In essence, nucleotidyl and nucleoside diphospate kinases are two human enzymes which add phospatic groups to the molecule once the existing groups on P have been cleaved. 

Only when this process and transition from sofosbuvir as prodrug to sofosbuvir as drug is done within the body, the molecule becomes a very effective Hepatitis C treatment.

How does Sofosbuvir enter Hepatitis C virus

The created sofosbuvir drug in the body has to enter Hepatitis C virus in order to be effective in disrupting HCV replication. This is the process that makes sofosbuvir stand out as an effective Hepatitis C therapeutical substance.

It needs to be mentioned that sofosbuvir is not out-of-the-box thinking molecule. Actually, it is very similar to existing antiviral molecules such as acyclovir for example, but one small but very important difference. Every antiviral in this group of therapeutics has to have 3 phosphate groups (Ps in the molecule) to be effective.  Usually, the addition of the first PO _4 ^-3  phosphate group is the hardest and thus slowest, the other two phosphate groups are then readily added. 

Sofosbuvir mode of action

When inside a Hepatitis C virus, sofosbuvir seeks out and selectively attaches to the NS5B polymerase viral protein which is a vital component virus replication. Sofosbuvir mode of action is to disguise itself as a structural part of NS5B. This sofosbuvir mechanism of action is known as a defective substrate. When sofosbuvir binds to the viral protein, it inhibits its further construction. Thus the protein construction is stopped and the protein cannot complete its normal function of replicating the virus. In such a way, the number of Hepatitis C viruses is stagnating and immune system comes in to kill them off one at a time. Without the ability to recover from the heavy losses against the immune system, HCV virus is doomed to be eliminated, which heals the patient of Hepatitis C (viral load goes to zero). 

This is a regular mechanism of action of all nucleotide-like antivirals. For Hepatitis C treatment, other drug molecules are used in Hepatitis C treatment together with sofosbuvir. Mechanism of action of ledipasvir, daclatasvir and ribavirin are not altogether different from sofosbuvir mechanism of action. A natural question is why do Hepatitis C patient have to take two or more drug molecules for treatment if sofosbuvir is already such an exceptionally potent drug with an advanced mechanism of action against Hepatitis C virus?

Why is Hepatitis C always treated with at least two drug molecules?

Sofosbuvir is an extremely effective molecule working against Hepatitis C virus. In fact, sofosbuvir mechanism of action enables it to eliminate more than 99.99% of the virus in a great majority of cases. However, that 0.01% of the virus left could still prove problematic.

This is why a second antiviral molecule is used to eliminate any virus that might have survived. Modern Hepatitis C treatment regimen consist of combination of primarily sofosbuvir, and secondarily ledipasvir, daclatasvir or ribavirin. This is how we can ensure that the treatment is optimal and minimize the risk of HPV developing sofosbuvir drug resistance. 

Experience with viral disease has taught us that virus, which is being endangered with therapeutic drugs, readily mutates and becomes drug-resistant. No drug mechanism of action is capable of completely eliminating the possibility of drug-resistance arising. Especially problematic for the development of drug resistance are viruses that have been treated with a certain drug like sofosbuvir but were not all eliminated. Namely, the remaining ones developed their own mechanism of how to best survive against the drug, rendering them resistant. This is why it is utterly necessary to eliminate all the virus that has come into contact with sofosbuvir or any other therapeutic molecule.

Ledipasvir and Daclatasvir Mechanism of Action

Ledipasvir has the same aim as sofosbuvir - to prevent HCV from replicating; however, the approach it takes is different. Ledipasvir mode of action is to inhibit protein  viral phosphoprotein, NS5A, which is involved in viral replication, assembly, and secretion. The same protein is also targeted by daclatasvir.
 

Hepatitis C has long been a formidable disease with a high death toll and inadequate treatment. However, in the recent years we have seen much more successful treatment options on a backbone of a newly discovered therapeutic molecule called sofosbuvir. 

Sofosbuvir is an antiviral molecule, structurally similar to existing antivirals, but it has proven to be of great benefit to Hepatitis C patients - it almost single-handedly skyrocketed the cure rate from 50% to 95% overnight. This has brought the company who invented brought it to market under the tradename Sovaldi, and later Harvoni, tremendous success. This molecule is currently the best-selling pharmaceutical ingredient in the world, because it plays an essential role in modern Hepatitis C treatment regimen.

How Sofosbuvir Works

Essentially, sofosbuvir molecule works by preventing Hepatitis C virus (HCV) to replicate itself. One of the necessary components for replication is the RNA molecule of the virus. In order to make a copy of RNA for the new virus to form, virus uses an enzyme called RNA polymerase to replicate RNA. Basically, out of 1 existing RNA molecules, and additional RNA is formed in order to be used to construct a new virus and facilitate the propagation of Hepatitis C virus - which for a patient means Hepatitis C will manifest more and more in his or her liver.

Sofosbuvir works by inhibiting enzyme RNA polymerase - the cellular worker that performs the replication process. Being unable to make new viruses due to sofosbuvir mechanism of action, the existing Hepatitis C viruses are at the mercy of patient's immune system which is readily eliminating the virus. Without sofosbuvir, Hepatitis C virus has an ability to rebuilt the lost viruses and build up in the liver. When sofosbuvir, however, is allied with patient's own immune system, there is only a 5% probability that the virus will survive (with appropriate treatment regimen). This is why sofosbuvir has a 95% success rate. 

Sofosbuvir Mechanism of Action

Here is how sofosbuvir molecule looks like in chemical terms. We are about to explain in detail how sofosbuvir works or, in other words, what is sofosbuvir mechanism of action (sofosbuvir MOA).

Sofosbuvir as prodrug

Sofosbuvir is a prodrug - this means that the molecule is chemically changed to a therapeutically useful molecule in a human body. If you look on the structure (on the right); the left part of the molecule remains unchanged while the right part surrounded around P (phosporous atom) will readily change into a therapeutic form with the help of enzymes in the body. In essence, nucleotidyl and nucleoside diphospate kinases are two human enzymes which add phospatic groups to the molecule once the existing groups on P have been cleaved. 

Only when this process and transition from sofosbuvir as prodrug to sofosbuvir as drug is done within the body, the molecule becomes a very effective Hepatitis C treatment.

How does Sofosbuvir enter Hepatitis C virus

The created sofosbuvir drug in the body has to enter Hepatitis C virus in order to be effective in disrupting HCV replication. This is the process that makes sofosbuvir stand out as an effective Hepatitis C therapeutical substance.

It needs to be mentioned that sofosbuvir is not out-of-the-box thinking molecule. Actually, it is very similar to existing antiviral molecules such as acyclovir for example, but one small but very important difference. Every antiviral in this group of therapeutics has to have 3 phosphate groups (Ps in the molecule) to be effective.  Usually, the addition of the first PO _4 ^-3  phosphate group is the hardest and thus slowest, the other two phosphate groups are then readily added. 


Sofosbuvir was designed to marvelously solve this problem by having the first phosphate group already attached to its structure. Thus there is no need for a lengthy and hard process of adding the group. The other two phosphate groups are quickly added to sofosbuvir and the so-called prodrug is now an active drug.  Of additional benefit are also the groups that are bound to the phosphate group of the molecule - these work by masking the negative (-) electric charge of a phosphate group and by that facilitate the entrance of sofosbuvir into the virus. 


 Prior to the discovery of sofosbuvir, a variety of nucleoside analogs had been examined as antihepatitis C treatments, but these exhibited relatively low potency. This low potency arises in part because the enzymatic addition of the first of the three phosphate groups of the triphosphate is slow. The design of sofosbuvir, based on the protide approach, avoids this slow step by building the first phosphate group into the structure of the drug during synthesis. Additional groups are attached to the phosphorus to temporarily mask the two negative charges of the phosphate group, thereby facilitating entry of the drug into the infected cell.[30][31] The NS5B protein is a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase critical for the viral reproduction cycle.

New age Hepatitis C medicines are more than just a medical wonder. They gave humanity an ability to save lives. 

How good are we at saving those lives?

More people die of Hepatitis C than HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C is a serious disease that ultimately results in death of patients. Approximately 500,000 people die from Hepatitis C and related illnesses in 2013 alone, more than 20,000 of them were US citizens. To put it in perspective: HIV/AIDS has longed been talked about as a very serious disease with a disastrous death toll. However, according to Dr. Laura J. Martin of WebMD nowadays more people die from Hepatitis C than from HIV/AIDS.

Today, there are more than 3.2 million of Hepatitis C patients in the US alone. 

In late 2013, however, humanity had a break-through that should by all accounts drastically change lives of people living with Hepatitis C. A new drug, Sovaldi (400mg sofosobuvir), was approved in December 2013 on the US market.

With it, more than 90% of people with Hepatitis C can be cured. But are they really being cured?

Standard Interferon-based treatment

For any disease to be deemed a very problematic one, there are two conditions:

1. Disease is serious (causes severe injuries or death)
2. There is a lack of efficient cure

Polio, for example, was a very serious disease with a disastrous outcome. However, after discovering an efficient polio vaccine, the number of patient and number of death relating to polio was reduced dramatically. 

Hepatitis C prior to 2013 was a very problematic disease because it caused death via liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, and the only treatment we had was 50% efficient. 

Hepatitis C patients were put on 6-months long interferon-based treatment which consisted of injecting oneself with interferon and taking additional oral medicines such as ribavirin (antiviral molecule). Nonetheless, for 1 out of every 2 patients treated the treatment has been proven to be unsuccessful. 

There was a need for an efficient cure. Newly-discovered sofosbuvir molecule was the answer.

New age Hepatitis C treatment - Sofosbuvir-based medications

With the launch of Sovaldi and Harvoni medicines by a company Gilead Sciences, humanity finally attained a very effective cure for Hepatitis C. Being an all-oral regimen, sofosbuvir pills are taken on a daily basis for 12-weeks (standard treatment), have mild side effects and, above all, more than 95% cure rate. This is what in pharmaceutical industry refer to as a game-changer. Now almost everyone can be cured and Hepatitis C suddenly became an easily curable disease. 

Does anybody die of Hepatitis C now?

Simple answer is 'YES'. While the number of deaths has decreased from 500,000 per year, there are still hundreds of thousands of people dying every year. The reason: Hepatitis C.

But if we know Hepatitis C is so easily treatable nowadays, why are people still dying?

Pharmaceutical industry is a profitable business (Money>Patients)

When we spoke about Harvoni and Sovaldi being a game-changer in industrial industry, it was meant more in profits than in saving lives. Here are two simple reasons why people even in the developed world are still dying of Hepatitis C.

1. Original Sovaldi (400mg sofosbuvir) costs $80,000 per treatment (US prices)
2. Original Harvoni (90mg ledipasvir/400mg sofosbuvir) costs $94,500 per treatment (US prices)

With this in mind, let us calculate the US Hepatitis C market. If we know there are 3,2 million Hepatitis C patients, each in need of an $80,000 cure, the total comes to staggering number: Gilead Sciences is looking to sell more than $250 billion worth of Hepatitis C medicine to patients who can die without it.

Here is a horrifying realization. We have people who will die without the cure. We have the cure. But people who are dying cannot afford the cure because it is priced extremely high. 'What have we come to as a society?' is the right question here.

Way to get Hepatitis C medicines without having to pay massive sums of money

Gilead Sciences, company that markets Sovaldi and Harvoni, offered licences to Indian manufacturers to produce generic version of sofosbuvir-based medicines. In short, India refused to recognise a level of innovation for sofosbuvir molecule that would grant Gilead Sciences a patent and monopoly over Hepatitis C market in India. 

This created a loophole. This loophole is now saving lives. 

FixHepC Buyers Club to the rescue

All around the world there are Hepatitis C patients that will die without getting the cure - and they are not getting it because the prices of the drugs are so extremely high. This is where FixHepC Buyers Club comes in. 

It is our mission to deliver life-saving Hepatitis C medicines to your doorstep for a negligible cost. We have set up a supply chain consisting of sofosbuvir production, packaging and distribution across the world. It is our hope this will bring down the Hepatitis C death toll under 100,000 and that in near future Hepatitis C death cases will be as few in number as possible with sofosbuvir-based medication. 

We strive to deliver generic Harvoni anywhere on the planet for less than $2,000 per treatment in about 2-3 weeks. With this prices, we could cure all Hepatitis C patients in the US for less than $7 billion. 

Are thing in Hepatitis C market likely to change?

Hardly. Pharmaceutical industry holds on to patents for drugs that last for 20- to 25-years. During this time, the prices of original Sovaldi and Harvoni will be extremely high, and Hepatitis C patients don't have 20 or more year to wait for patents to expire. 

If you have Hepatitis C, act now. The FixHepC Buyers Club will help you every step of the way, from getting the necessary medicines to monitoring your treatment success. You can call us or send us an email with your inquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..