Hepatitis C: New drug treatment 'is a breakthrough'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26987653A new treatment for hepatitis C "cured" 90% of patients with the infection in 12 weeks, scientists said.
The study is a "major breakthrough" and marks a "turning point" in hepatitis C treatment, said experts.
More than 200,000 people are infected with hepatitis in the UK, and deaths from the infection have increased threefold since 1996.
Only 3% of patients in the UK currently opt for the existing treatment, which only works half of the time
= new reply since forum marked as read
but it's probably Sovaldi - a new drug that will be prohibitively expensive. UTTER GREED 
"Cost of Gilead's hepatitis C pill, Sovaldi, spurs revolt"
snip
"A 12-week regimen of Sovaldi doesn't cost $84,000 everywhere. Gilead prices the drug at $57,000 in the United Kingdom and $66,000 in Germany. And in Egypt and other developing countries, the bill amounts to $900 - 99 percent less than the U.S. cost.
"We're just shaking our heads wondering why the American taxpayers are being asked to pay this very high price for a drug that is being sold for substantially less than in other countries," Molina said.
The United States, unlike most other countries, does not regulate drug prices. Pharmaceutical industry proponents have long argued that regulation would stifle innovation and competition.
Although Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, and other Congress members sent a stern letter to Gilead last month - "Our concern is that a treatment will not cure patients if they cannot afford it" - there is little chance that the government will force Gilead, or any drugmaker, to back down."
more
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Cost-of-Gilead-s-hepatitis-C-pill-Sovaldi-spurs-5398315.php
