New Pills Show Promise for Hepatitis C

If approved, they'll provide fewer side effects, shorter treatment time, studies suggest

January 2, 2013 RSS Feed Print

Like ABT-450/r, the side effects for sofosbuvir included headache, fatigue, nausea and skin rash.

Experts welcomed the findings.

"Overall, these results are encouraging, and there's definitely a need for new treatments," said liver specialist Dr. Natasha Von Roenn, from Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago.

"Headache seemed to be a significant side effect in both studies, but the good news was that none of the patients had to stop treatment because of side effects," she noted.

"We're moving closer to having an oral interferon-free regimen with good response rates," she added.

Both studies were phase 2 studies, so neither treatment is yet available.

More information

Learn more about hepatitis C and its treatment from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.