New drug for Aussies with hepatitis C on PBS

Thousands of Australians will be able to take a pill once a day for eight weeks to treat hepatitis C, with a new drug that will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The MAVIRET medicine must be placed on the market. Wednesday's PBS and give the 200,000 Aussies living with access to the estimated drug.

It contains two direct-acting antiviral agents that block the life cycle of the virus in a patient, with doctors saying that a patient is "virologically cured" when there are undetectable levels of the virus 12 weeks after completing the treatment.

This initiative is part of the federal government's $ 1 billion investment in new direct-acting antiviral treatments to help the World Health Organization eliminate "The inclusion of MAVIRET in the PBS provides an additional tool in the strategy to eliminate hepatitis C as a threat to public health in Australia and around the world, "said director Viral He of the Kirby Institute. The Patite Clinical Research Program, Professor Gregory Dore, said in a statement

"For people living with hepatitis C, especially those who are starting a treatment, this new diet offers another option may cause cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.