Top Years Forecasting On Sales Of Sovaldi And Harvoni

This research paper is going to review today’s silent killer, the Hepatitis C virus. This paper will talk about the description of the disease, the signs and symptoms, the etiology and risk factors, diagnostic studies, treatments and prognosis of this disease. I had lived with this disease for over ten years before diagnosed so it is important to understand the signs and symptoms so the disease can be identified and a treatment plan can be identified as the sooner it is treated the more likely it will eradicate the disease.

The definition for Hepatitis changes with whom you ask. To some it means a horrible painful way to die while others are able to look at it as a disease. The word Hepatitis means liver inflamation. The liver is a large, glandular, reddish-brown organ located in the upper right side of the abdomen. It consists of 5 lobes and secretes bile into the gallbladder and into the small intestine and aids in the digestion of lipids. Hepatitis is often caused by a virus. Hepatitis A, B, and C are the most common types in the United States but there is also a type

Liver cirrhosis, which is the end product of liver disease caused by HCV, is the leading cause of organ transplants in the United States (Hirsch, 2000).

Do you recall hearing about a single medication pill that costs about $1000 each pill? Well, it exists. Sovaldi was a newly approved drug in 2015 designed to treat hepatitis C with an estimated cost of $84,000 for a standard 12-week treatment course. In addition to Sovaldi, the list price of Harvoni, another hepatitis C medication, is estimated to be $95,000 for the 12-week treatment course.

A few years ago, Hepatitis C was a scary term for many of us. But, today the medical problem is curable as there are various and advanced ways available. The improvement in the treatment is especially notable because experts have worked harder to obtain this success. Still, there are some significant changes are left and hopefully they will be completed soon. Presently, the HCV treatments get rid of the virus in merely slightly more than half of all sufferers. The medicines also have unnecessary side effects that make it complicated or not possible for some patients to get them. HCV medication online available, but it is not worthy to take them without the concern of the doctor.

As much as Medicaid being able to cover the costs of other expensive specialty drugs for other diseases such as HIV and cystic fibrosis but the case of Sovaldi is quite different given the fact that a large population suffers from the disease that it treats with the prevalence of hepatitis C among the Medicaid recipients being quite high. There have been several proposed federal solutions including; price controls, the creation of a supply chain where the federal government could buy quantities of the drug at a discount and also to sell the drug to the states at a low price. The issue has not yet been taken by the Congress with states still being given the

Many people don’t understand how dangerous Hepatitis C is because it is not commonly known about as much as Hepatitis A or B. This disease is however very serious. Although frequently asymptomatic in time the virus can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Symptoms of HCV are jaundice (yellowing of the eyes), stomach pain, nausea and fatigue. Treatment options for the disease, if caught early enough is a combination of medications or depending on the degree of damage, a liver transplant. ”For some people, hepatitis C is a short-term illness but for 70%-85% of people who become infected with

The average annual cost for a brand name prescription drug in 2013 was $2,960. Alternatively, the average annual cost for specialty prescription drugs was $53,384. The specialty prescription drugs makes up 1.2% of all prescriptions, but they account for 18% of total money spent on prescription drugs on a yearly basis. Two examples of the extremely high costs for prescription drugs are Gilead Sciences and Bristol-Myers Squibbs. Gilead Sciences hepatitis c treatment Harvoni, a popular hepatitis treatment because it treats the most common genotype of hepatitis c, Costs $1,125 per pill. Harvoni is largely effective and is typically taken in a 12 week course, except for those that liver cirrhosis that are recommended to take the prescription drug for 24 weeks. Setting those that take the prescription drug for 12 weeks $94,500 back and those that take the prescription drug for 24 weeks $189,000 back. Additionally, Bristol-Myers Squibb's, Opdivo is a revolutionary immunotherapie that works by first suppressing cancer's ability to hide from the immune system, then kicking the immune system into an accelerated state to eliminate

However, Americans pay more for prescription drugs than any other country, and there seems to be no stopping the unprecedented rise in prescription drug costs. Some specialty medications have become unaffordable under drug insurance plans which charge lofty copays under “tiered” reimbursement structures. Specialty drugs, include those that are used to treat conditions requiring a long course of treatment or a year of therapy; for example, for cancer, Hepatitis C, and other rare conditions, in addition they may require special handling, monitoring, or administration (Davis, 2016). Often these drugs exceed over $100,000 for a year or course of treatment (Trenton, 2016).

In time the virus can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Symptoms of HCV are jaundice (yellowing of the eyes), stomach pain, nausea and fatigue. The main problem is that many people don’t have symptoms until they already have some sort of liver damage. Treatment options for HCV include a combination of medications or depending on the degree of damage, a liver transplant. Given that HCV it is a blood disease that is spread through contact with an infected person’s blood, there are many ways to contract this disease. Injection drug users, physical altercations, sexual contact and mother to infant infection are just some of the ways this disease is spread.

Ayalew Tefferi of the Mayo Clinic, the article’s lead author, notes a cancer patient who has health insurance will still pay as much as $30,000 a year in out-of-pocket costs for a cancer drug that costs $120,000 a year. Tefferi says that’s more than half the average of the annual U.S. household income of $52,000.

Hepatitis C is definitely not a public health crisis that needs emergency intervention in terms of the policy makers being pressured to make a decision urgently. However, thousands of citizens of the United States die on a yearly basis from this contagious disease (CDC, 2014). This makes it a serious public health issue. Hepatitis C is basically a liver disease that is contagious in nature and could be fatal if left untreated. According to the CDC website over 3 million Americans are infected with the disease (HCV), and “approximately 75%–85% of people who become infected with Hepatitis C virus develop chronic infection”. Hepatitis C is most commonly transmitted in the United States through IV drug use (CDC, 2014). Other modes of transmission includes blood transfusion or coming in contact with someone’s blood, accidental needlestick injuries among health care workers (e.g., nurses and phlebotomists), sexual contact (rare) and infants born to mothers who have the disease. These above medical and demographic facts make HCV a serious threat on public health.

In general, a patient is infected with only one hepatitis C virus genotype. The strain of genotypes is not differentiated by the severity of the disease. However, there will make a distinction in the regimen and the duration of the treatment (CDC, 2016). Treatment for chronic HCV is based on guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Associations for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The criteria of who should receive the treatment include how much the virus in the body, the strain of hepatitis C, the degree of liver inflammation or damage, comorbidity, and response to previous treatment (Infectious Diseases Society of America [IDSA], 2016). The highest priority for treatment should give to a patient with advanced fibrosis and compensated cirrhosis (IDSA, 2016). Moreover, treatment priority should provide to the patient who has a high risk of transmitting the disease from and to others, such as individuals who are active injection drug users and hemodialysis patients (IDSA, 2016).

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. There are currently five known viruses that cause can hepatitis (Microbiology, 10e). The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted through contact with the blood of an infected person; however, it is now more commonly spread among IV drug users that share needles. Healthcare workers are also at risk for contracting HCV, but with standard precautions, the risk is low. “Prior to 1992, some people acquired the HCV infection from transfusions of blood or blood products. Since 1992, all blood products have been screened for HCV, and cases of HCV due to blood transfusion now are extremely rare. HCV can be passed from mother to unborn child. Approximately 4 out of every 100 infants born to HCV-positive mothers

Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver’s cells and tissues caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).