Hepatitis C infects millions of Americans and can lead to death after decades in the body. The newer hepatitis C medicines tend to achieve cure rates of 90% or more, compared with rates of 65% among older medications, which also must be taken for up to a year. The FDA said it identified 24 cases of hepatitis B reactivation, either reported to it or found in medical literature, from Nov. 22, 2013 through July 18, 2016. Of the cases reported, two patients died and one required a liver transplant. Reactivation of hepatitis B wasn’t reported as an adverse event in clinical trials submitted to the FDA for approval of the drugs.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 04, 2016 21:33 UTC