New Drug for Hepatitis C shows Promising Interaction with Minimal Side Effects

While doctors report many successes with current treatments for the virus, Hepatitis C, the drugs on the market to combat the problem often contain some serious side effects that can lead to liver failure or even cancer, according to reports. However, a new study may offer a promising drug for a healthier alternative with minimal side effects.

According to Counsel & Heal, a study headed by Dr. Harry Janssen and colleagues from the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada, tested a new drug on 27 people, with nine people receiving a placebo. The drug is called miravirsen and it works completely differently from current antivirals and antibiotics. The drug is known as an RNA inference drug (RNAi), which uses fragments of RNA in attacking the diseased cells. The RNA in the drug acts like sponges that soak up the RNA molecules from the cancer cells, and without the RNA molecules, these diseased cells cannot survive. Of the 27 people who received this injection treatment, four of the nine people who got the highest dosages were completely free of hepatitis C after five injections. All participants received the drug for one month.

Although this drug trial is extremely small and short, the researchers and other medical professionals believe that the results promise a good treatment option within the near future for hepatitis C and even other diseases, such as cancer. The fact that the doctors in this study were able to successfully show that an RNAi drug could be effective opens up more research for this type of drug. For years, pharmaceutical companies and researchers have tried to manufacture RNAi drugs because they believed that this type of drug could be more effective in treating diseases. However, several of these companies have given up on the lengthy and costly journey. In 2010, two huge companies, Roche and Novartis ended their RNAi programs. Some companies continued their quest in finding an RNAi drug treatment and in January of this year, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first ever RNAi drug, Kynamro, which treats high cholesterol.

With the progress made in RNAi drugs, doctors and researchers are optimistic that miravirsen could soon be a viable treatment option. So far, the drug can be used to treat all typed of hepatitis C with very little side effects. However, a larger study and more research need to be done.

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.