Politics & Government

Olysio, New Hepatitis C Drug, Approved by FDA

Thirty-two Exeter Hospital patients contracted hepatitis C last year in an outbreak.

Olysio, a promising new drug to treat hepatitis C, was approved last week by the Food and Drug Administration.

Hepatitis C affects more than 3 million people in the United States. Last year, 32 Exeter Hospital patients contracted the potentially deadly liver disease during an outbreak. Authorities said a former worker spread his hepatitis C to the patients by injecting himself with their painkillers.

Olysio is a pill. Side affects include skin rash, itching and nausea, according to manufacturer Janssen Therapeutics. Traditional hepatitis C treatments use interferon, an injection, and ribavirin, a pill. Side affects include swelling of the extremities, weight loss, rashes and depression.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease that can live in the body for decades and sometimes causes cirrhosis—a scarring of the liver that can be deadly.


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