Expensive Hepatitis C Medicines Possibly Have Killer Side Effects, Says FDA

Pricey Hepatitis C medicines that are believed to cure patients may become a deadly risk for some as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says they can cause Hepatitis B, a second Hepatitis virus to become active.

FDA has issued a warning on Tuesday, saying that patients who take any medicines for curing Hepatitis C need to get themselves checked for Hepatitis B which is an incurable virus. Doctors have also been advised to screen their patients with Hepatitis C for Hepatitis B as well, according to NBC news.

Pricey Hepatitis C Drugs Can Have Deadly Side-Effect for Some: FDA - https://t.co/xtWS7YppF2 https://t.co/SWuELYlC9t

— Health Medicines (@HealthMedicines) October 5, 2016

"Doctors should be screening everybody," said Dr. John Farley, deputy director of FDA's Office of Antimicrobial Products.

These Hepatitis C medicines are known as direct-acting antivirals. Harvoni, a combination tablet that includes Sovaldi, Daklinza, Technivie and Olysio are some drugs that are used in treating Hepatitis C among several others. Sovaldi costs nearly $84,000 for a week long treatment that can cure a patient of Hepatitis. Harvoni also costs around $94,000 for the similar treatment.

More than 3 million people in the United States are affected by Hepatitis C. It is spread through blood and may necessitate transplantation of lever.

This warning from FDA comes after the death of two patients who were consuming Hepatitis C medicines, along with one patient who required liver transplant. These patients saw the reactivation of Hepatitis B virus for which they had been treated earlier. This virus can be cured quite easily in some patients but can have killer effects for some others.

At least 24 patients who were taking Hepatitis C medicines had a Hepatitis B reactivation from November 2013 to mid-July 2016. "This number includes only cases submitted to the FDA, so there are likely additional cases about which we are unaware," the FDA said on its website.

Only 50 percent of the people who have been affected by Hepatitis C in the United States get appropriate testing for it. It is also possible that people may not remember they had been infected with Hepatitis B as well in the past, which is incurable but can go dormant.

The Food and Drug Association has said in a statement that they are not sure about the reason for the resurgence of the Hepatitis B virus and also that the killer side effect of Hepatitis C medicines was not noted earlier because the drug-manufacturing firms did not test the medicines on patients who had Hepatitis B.