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Sofosbuvir (sold under the brand name Sovaldi from Gilead Sciences, among others) significantly reduces the risk of death and the need for liver transplant in patients with hepatitis C who suffer from advanced stages of liver disease.
Researchers at Intermountain Healthcare’s Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City studied almost 1,900 patients with hepatitis C and found that the number of patients needing a liver transplant was reduced by 40 percent after they were treated with sofosbuvir.
The study results were recently presented at the 2017 International Joint Congress of ILTS, ELITA & LICAGE May 24-27 in Prague, Czech Republic.
The study found that, “Prior to FDA approval of sofosbuvir, patients with the most advanced stages of cirrhosis either died from their disease or ended up receiving a transplant,” Michael Charlton, MD, lead researcher and associate director of the Intermountain Medical Center Transplant Program, said in a news release.
“We found that by treating those patients, who were on the verge of needing a transplant, with sofosbuvir-based therapies, we greatly reduced the liver transplant and mortality rates.”
The researchers suggest that HCV treatment with sofosbuvir should be considered in all HCV patients with cirrhosis, even those in advanced stages.