UK's NICE recommends hepatitis C treatment for children

In draft guidance published this week, the UK’s drugs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends peginterferon alfa in combination with ribavirin as an option for treating chronic hepatitis C in children and young people.

Swiss drug major Roche’s (ROG: SIX) Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) and US major Merck & Co’s (NYSE: MRK) ViraferonPeg (peginterferon alfa-2b) in combination with ribavirin are the only treatments currently licensed in the UK for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in children and adolescents.

Carole Longson, NICE Health Technology Evaluation Centre director, said: “Hepatitis C is a potentially debilitating condition, and although it rarely causes serious liver damage in children, if left untreated there is a high risk that it will cause liver cirrhosis and eventual liver failure many years down the line. The independent Appraisal Committee concluded that treatment with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin can decrease the hepatitis C virus to undetectable levels, effectively providing the equivalent of a cure for the disease. By widening access to these drugs this guidance will give clinicians and people living with hepatitis C more treatment options. Early successful treatment is also likely to lessen the social stigma that can be associated with hepatitis C infection later in life.”