Hepatitis C Treatment for Children Approved
Tuesday December 16, 2008
A new hepatitis C treatment for children was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 
Peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin are now available to treat children with chronic hepatitis C who are older than 3 years of age. These drugs have actually been around for many years, but they were only available for treating adults. The FDA granted its approval after the Schering-Plough Corporation provided data from self-funded clinical trials that showed between 55% and 96% of children reached SVR (depending on which genotype the patient had) using a combination of Pegintron and Rebetol.
Peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin are now available to treat children with chronic hepatitis C who are older than 3 years of age. These drugs have actually been around for many years, but they were only available for treating adults. The FDA granted its approval after the Schering-Plough Corporation provided data from self-funded clinical trials that showed between 55% and 96% of children reached SVR (depending on which genotype the patient had) using a combination of Pegintron and Rebetol.
Why is this important news? The only drugs previously approved to treat children with hepatitis C were Intron A (recombinant Interferon alfa-2b) and Rebetol. Unfortunately, children were missing out on the powerful pegylated interferon, which is a chemically modified interferon that stays in the body longer and provides better treatment. It also only needs to be injected once a week, which is a big plus for toddlers, kids and any teens who are afraid of needles! The bottom line is, this recently approved treatment brings children more inline with standard hepatitis C care.
Image courtesy of Soňa Psotová/stock.xchng
Comments
My granddaughter, age 19 was recently diagnosed with Hep C. This site is very informative. She has geneno type 1. They will be doing a liver biopsy this month to check the damage. Thanks for the information