Hep C

[evilqueerpig]

In the US, they're running tv commercials for the new Hep C treatment.  Thanks to my HIV Doc, I qualified to get it at no cost and I'm currently on my second month with no side effects at all.  Gilead, the company who discovered this treatment is supposedly very close to an HIV cure as well.

[FillMyArse]

I've got a liver biopsy coming up at the end of the month. Hopefully this will finally be what's needed to get me on treatment.

[bbzh]

People are going to India for treatment. $1,000 there vs $84,000 in the US.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-01/hepatitis-cruise-india-trips-among-plans-to-save-on-1-000-pill

[wood]

People are going to India for treatment. $1,000 there vs $84,000 in the US.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-01/hepatitis-cruise-india-trips-among-plans-to-save-on-1-000-pill

I have no problem with capitalism, or pharma companies making money on their products, but I do have a problem when there is direct profiteering from peoples illness and death.  Gilead has done tremendous good for its patients and I am thankful for that.  However, I am less thankful for the billions investors have made off of people who cant afford it.  

[Leather69]

Hi

 

there is an Australian bio-tech company that is running human trials in the US, in conjunction with medical groups. Further details can be found at asx.com.au  company code BLT or Benetic Biopharma Ltd.

Patients are being dosed at an increasing rate, then monitored over a six week period. Results of the trials are expected to be released towards the end of this year. 

[disorder]

HEP C really scares me. I am straight HIV- and Hep C- but a lot of potential partners are HEPC+. I do party a little and occasional chat/meet with someone who is into IV stuff. I always ask HIV status and with IV users I also ask Hep C status. They always say they are clean for both and get tested at a needle exchange. I also follow that up with whether they like anal. This somewhat of a baited questions.2 Most have resounding no but some do say they can't do it for health reasons.  I suspect that wile they are fibbing about thier HEPC status they are at least knowledgeable enough to understand anal is higher risk. At this stage it's giving them the benefit of the doubt tough.Some did admit to being HEPC+

 

 I'm creative and prior to potentially meeting someone who is/was an IV user and neg I would contact them on a different # pretending that I worked for an escort company. Explained that I was looking for people to do party friendly events in a  nonjudgmental atmosphere. I also asked for their recent HIV/HEPC status explaining that if they were positive for anything, it could be worked around, if they were up front. Re-itterating that we work with people in all situation and also adding that if they claim to be negative and test positive we hold them responsible for the bill. They always say that they are HIV- but HEPC+.  I play around a bit with more questions knowing there is no chance I was meeting them.

 

It's a little creepy but not exactly untrue either.. I do host swing and gang bang parties in my spare time. I also work with someone who promotes and attends sex parties at fairly upscale places. These parties do occasionally pay some select performers well..  I find it fascinating that when no money is involved someone will lie. When money and implied understanding is expressed they always open up. I'm not sure how to read this. You would think that a person shitty enough to lie about status with no benefit would also lie with a potential pay day. Needless to say I almost never ever meet up with these people.

 

In some situations I do feel bad their health situation, regardless of their lies, and discuss that treatment and in some cases a cure is available.Those at the ghetto needle exchange are never informed on the most up to date info. I watched a shit bag uncle die of HEPC and even though he routinely abused my aunt I did not wish that on him and neither did my aunt.  Most are way to whacked to care but one was very interested in getting it cleared up if it could be afforded with no health insurance. I was able to find some assistance the costs bartering my professional skill and got her a spot in a trial. Nothing sexual at all. I just had the right contacts at the time. She was cleared 12 weeks later. I also paid for another test a few weeks later for my own satisfaction that she received the right meds.

[rawfuckr]

 ... Gilead, the company who discovered this treatment is supposedly very close to an HIV cure as well.

 

No HIV cures anywhere. Not even close. HIV may actually be incurable, (due to HIV hiding in places we can never reach) and all we can aspire to is a 'functional cure' where you don't need to take drugs. I see one HIV cure in the news every day.. stop sharing this BS.

[Guest ff-whole]

Good post...

Good luck and become healthy again soon.

[FillMyArse]

No HIV cures anywhere. Not even close. HIV may actually be incurable, (due to HIV hiding in places we can never reach) and all we can aspire to is a 'functional cure' where you don't need to take drugs. I see one HIV cure in the news every day.. stop sharing this BS.

 

There is some truth in what evilqueerpig was saying. Gilead know about how HIV hides and are trying to develop drugs that invade those hiding spaces...

 

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-17/after-curing-hepatitis-c-gilead-works-to-vanquish-more-viruses 

 

 

 

Gilead Sciences Inc., basking in the success of its cure for hepatitis C, is setting ambitious goals to vanquish two other major viral scourges: HIV and hepatitis B.

Even with some promising signs in early trials, the biggest biotechnology firm in the world faces long odds in finding a way to rid humanity of the diseases. And it’s unclear whether a cure for either virus would produce the kind of lucrative return that Gilead has earned from its treatments for hepatitis C.

The Foster City, California-based drugmaker has more than doubled its drug sales since 2013 after introducing Sovaldi and Harvoni, which cure more than 90 percent of patients with the liver virus in a matter of weeks. Gilead’s success also has left it with $8.61 billion in cash on hand, and the drumbeat is getting louder for the company to make a large acquisition to support continued growth.

 

The biotech giant’s executives say Gilead is trying to maintain its position on the front lines of battle against the viral illnesses, even as it branches out into new disease areas such as cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.

“Gilead is the leader in HIV, and fewer companies are working in HIV now,” said Andrew Cheng, executive vice present of clinical research and development operations.

The biotech company dominates the HIV market, estimating that about 80 percent of new patients starting therapy are prescribed a Gilead drug. GlaxoSmithKline Plc, AbbVie Inc. and Johnson & Johnson are competitors.

Gilead’s Viread, taken in combination with other drugs in four HIV therapies, will face generic competition in December 2017. To replace it, Gilead is rolling out a new set of treatments based on TAF, an improved version of Viread that achieves the same viral suppression with one-10th the dose, meaning fewer side effects to patients’ kidneys and bones. The TAF-based regimens are expected to start receiving approvals from U.S. regulators in November.

Hidden Virus

At the same time, Gilead is working to put the TAF drugs out of business as it pursues a cure. HIV is notoriously tricky to attack -- current treatments suppress virus replication, but the wily virus hides out in latent, or “resting,” cells that the immune system can’t find. With current drugs, when a patient stops treatment, the sleeping cells roar back to life.

Gilead’s leading candidate for a cure, GS-9620, employs a tactic known as “kick and kill,” in which latent cells are stimulated into an active mode, Cheng said. Then, in theory, the immune system can recognize the infected cells and kill them.

In a study of monkeys presented in February, doses of GS-9620 corresponded with “blips” of viral activity that suggested resting cells were being “woken up,” Cheng said. The drug is now being tried in humans in an early-stage trial, with initial results expected in the first half of 2016.

Woodchuck Cure

GS-9620 is being considered as well as a component of a cure strategy for hepatitis B, a virus that also has evasive tactics that allow it to hide from the immune system. In a study of woodchucks -- animals commonly used for hepatitis B studies - - viral loads were undetectable after four weeks of treatment, giving them a “functional cure” that remained even when treatment was stopped.

In a chimpanzee study, a short course of therapy provided long-term viral suppression, encouraging Gilead to move into human trials.

There’s no guarantee the drug will end up working for either virus. And while cures could be lucrative, the markets for the diseases are different than for hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni, which generated $4.9 billion in second-quarter sales.

Smaller Market?

“In the major markets, HIV is now a chronic condition versus the ruthless killer it was decades ago, thanks to many efficacious drugs available today that keep the virus at bay,” said Asthika Goonewardene, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “The need for a ‘cure’ is less critical.”

While the hepatitis B population is larger than that of hepatitis C -- about 350 million chronic patients worldwide versus 150 million, according to the World Health Organization - - a greater proportion of hepatitis B patients are in the developing world, where profit margins would be smaller for Gilead, Goonewardene said.

On the other hand, the drugs could require a longer treatment time than Sovaldi and Harvoni, resulting in higher price tags for a course, UBS AG analyst Matt Roden said.

To continue the momentum Gilead has gotten from Sovaldi and Harvoni, the company will remain under pressure to do deals.

“They’re going to have to branch out a bit if they want something to add $2, $3 or $4 billion to the top line over the next few years,” said Phil Nadeau, an analyst at Cowen & Co. Nadeau suggested Gilead look at deals in cancer or lung diseases.

Gilead’s work on GS-9620 also may open the door to more acquisitions like the one that made the company the leader in hepatitis C, Roden said. Harvoni combines Gilead’s drug ledipasvir with Sovaldi, which was acquired in the 2012 purchase of Pharmasset Inc.

“The blueprint for Gilead’s M&A in the past has been to integrate assets in an area where they have expertise,” said Roden. “It’s the combination of assets that has the most value.”