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New Drugs for Hepatitis C
The development of a certain drug that can effectively eliminate the infection of hepatitis C cheered doctors up. Meanwhile, their focus has switched to reducing the high cost of treatment. Some observers said competition among the handful of pharmaceutical companies as well as negotiations among manufacturers, governments and insurers will eventually make the treatment affordable.
The infectious disease can lead to scarring of the liver, cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure and death. For some sufferers, the only option for survival is a liver transplant. A preliminary study estimates that in California alone, treating just half of the sufferers with the new medications would cost an additional $18 billion this year, judging what is being spent now.
The new drugs have a cure rate of 95% or better in some clinical studies, much higher than the 45% cure rated of previous medications. Unlike the alternatives, the new ones cause only mild side effects, and can be taken orally. Furthermore, patients only have to take them for twelve to twenty-four weeks, compared to at least forty-eight weeks for the previous treatments. Yet at approximately $1,000 per pill, the cost is likely to be a challenge for the entire health care system, including Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance companies.
C型肝炎新藥物
一種可以有效抑制感染C型肝炎的藥物研發令醫師們相當振奮。但同時,醫師們將注意力轉移到降低龐大的醫藥費。有些觀察家表示,多家製藥廠的競爭,以及廠商、政府與保險業者的協商,最終將能使一般人負擔得起診療費。
這種傳染性的疾病會損害肝臟,導致肝硬化、肝癌、肝衰竭和死亡。對某些患者而言,戰勝病魔的唯一選擇是得到肝臟移植。一項初步的研究估計,今年單是加州,以目前的耗費去估計,用新型藥物治療僅半數的患者將會額外花費一百八十億美金。
在一些臨床研究中,此新型藥物的治癒率達到百分之九十五或甚至更高,遠高於先前藥物的百分之四十五。不同於其他藥物,新型藥物僅產生溫和的副作用,並可以口服。再者,病人只需服用十二至二十四週,相較之下,以前的藥物卻須至少四十八週。然而,一顆藥丸要價約一千元美金很可能會對整個健康照護系統帶來衝擊,包括醫療補助計畫、聯邦醫療保險及私立的保險公司都將面臨挑戰。
《Vocabulary》
1. hepatitis n. 肝炎
2. pharmaceutical adj. 製藥的
3. negotiation n. 談判協商
4. scar v. 損傷
5. cirrhosis n.(肝臟等)硬化
6. transplant n. 移植
7. preliminary adj. 初步的
8. clinical adj. 臨床的
9. previous adj. 先前的
10. orally adv. 口服地;口頭地
資料來源:
http://www.voanews.com/content/effectiveness-of-hepatitis-c-drugs-praised-cost-a-concern/1891020.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/03/stateline-hepatitis-c-drugs-health-care-spending/5973133/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/25/stateline-prisoners-hepatitis-drugs/6871187/
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