Good News if You're Living With Hep C

A trial of the popular hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi combined with the investigational new drug Daklinza saw nearly a 100 percent cure rate in patients who took the drugs for 12 weeks, University of Cincinnati researchers report. The cure rate was only 76 percent for eight weeks of treatment. The combo was as effective in HIV-positive patients as in those who did not have HIV.

Merck has applied for FDA approval for a once-daily, single-tablet combination med for hepatitis C, containing the drugs grazoprevir and elbasvir. Merck has studied the combo as a treatment for multiple types of the virus and for hard-to-treat patients, such as those who have both HIV and hep C.