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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • News Briefs
Hepatitis C Treatment May Halve Injections

November 6, 2002


This article is part of TheBody.com's archive. Because it contains information that may no longer be accurate, this article should only be considered a historical document.

Early research indicates that Human Genome Sciences' experimental hepatitis C treatment, Albuferon-alpha, may require fewer doses and stay in the bloodstream longer than the treatments of its major competitors, the company said Monday. In a test involving 34 patients, researchers found that a single dose of Albuferon-alpha remains active in the bloodstream for up to 28 days, more than twice the duration of the leading treatments now on the market. The company contends the drug will require once or twice monthly injections, which could cut in half the number of annual injections for hepatitis C patients. The results, culled from the first stages of human tests, are by no means conclusive. About 3 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C, which can lie dormant for years before destroying the liver or triggering liver cancer.

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This article is part of TheBody.com's archive. Because it contains information that may no longer be accurate, this article should only be considered a historical document.

Excerpted from:
Washington Post
11.05.02; Michael Barbaro

See Also
More on Hepatitis C


This article was provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.


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