Hepatitis Health Center

Hepatitis 'C' Cures Now Common

Better Treatments to Come

The message, the experts agree, is that a cure is possible, even for people who already have liver damage and for those with conditions like HIV co-infection.

They also agree that highly anticipated new treatments could improve cure rates in the years to come.

Phase II trials of highly specific drugs that target HCV are now under way, and Bacon says they could be approved within two to three years.

Vierling says he has high hopes that a multidrug approach to HCV treatment, similar to the approach that has turned HIV from a uniformly deadly to largely manageable disease, can improve treatment outcomes for a larger number of patients.

“New drugs may allow us to use existing treatments at lower doses or for shorter periods,” he says. “The future looks bright.”