Antiviral agents

Direct-acting antivirals successfully treating hepatitis C, says Public Health England

Public Health England is urging the public to get tested for hepatitis C after its latest figures revealed a fall in deaths from the disease, which it attributed to the introduction of direct-acting antiviral therapy.…

No antivirals for flu until further notice, Department of Health says

Department of Health announces halt to prescribing and supplying antivirals to treat influenza as data show that circulation of the virus has returned to baseline levels.…

Combination treatment for hepatitis C approved by FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of the combination treatment Vosevi (sofosbuvir, velpatasvir and voxilaprevir) for the treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1–6 without cirrhosis or with mild cirrhosis.…

Antiviral treatment improves outcomes in patients with advanced cirrhosis

Hepatitis C drug shown to reduce the need for transplant and lower mortality rate in patients with advanced liver disease.…

Study finds no evidence for clinical effect of direct-acting antivirals against hepatitis C

Direct-acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C, do not seem to reduce the risk of hepatitis C-related morbidity or all-cause mortality, according to a study carried out by the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group.…

FDA approves first direct-acting antivirals for adolescents with hepatitis C

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir) for the treatment of hepatitis C in adolescents aged 12–17 years.…

Oral and genital herpes: four experimental treatment strategies

Herpes simplex virus causes recurrent outbreaks of painful genital or oral lesions and in some circumstances can be lethal. But treatment is currently limited to antivirals, which are only 50% effective at reducing transmission. New treatments are desperately needed — here are four of the most…

Existing drugs identified that could fight Zika virus

By screening 6,000 drugs for anti-Zika properties, researchers found three potential therapies against the Zika virus.…

Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030: can it be done?

Luiz Loures from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) talks about ending the epidemic, and the challenges in fighting the disease that has claimed over 34 million lives.…

NHS England confirms decision not to fund pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV

NHS England has reiterated that it will not fund pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. This decision was first announced in March 2016, but pressure from stakeholder groups pushed NHS England to convene a meeting of the specialised services commissioning committee to re…