The drug of the new generation from hepatitis C "Vikeira Pak" reviews of the treated are mostly positive. This is primarily due to the high efficacy of the drug.
The effect of the drug "Vikeira Pak"
The action of the drug is based on three antiviral drugs. These are Dasabuvir, Ombitasvir, and Paritaprevir reinforced by ritonavir. Like the world famous drug called Harvoni, Vikeira Pak has a high treatment efficiency - the range is from 97 to 99%. Hepatitis is the fourth approved drug in America. Prior to him, clinical trials successfully passed Olisio (the name in Russia is Sovriad), combined Harvoni, as well as Sovaldi.
New Generation Medication Overview
Vikeira Pak (reviews of those who have been treated so far are not too numerous, since the drug was registered in Russia only in May 2015) is produced by an Irish manufacturer, and is packaged in the United States of America. The drug is officially sold in Russia, it can be ordered at any pharmacy. Active active ingredients of the drug:
- ritonavir;
- dasabuvir;
- paritaprevir;
- ombitasvir.
Refers to direct-acting antiviral drugs (J05A). This medication is an expensive drug. For example, a course of treatment over a period of 12 weeks will cost 950 thousand rubles — these are several packages of Vikeira Pak (cost in St. Petersburg). Consumer reviews include information that, compared to the famous Harvoni, whose price in Europe is about $ 60 thousand, the Irish drug is still quite available for purchase. The most budgetary option among all is a similar drug called "Sunvepra" (price - 400 thousand rubles for a course of treatment of the same duration).
Terms and conditions of storage
A full description of the drug "Vikeira Pak" can be found on the package with the medicine. It should be stored out of the reach of children at a temperature of no more than 25 degrees Celsius. You can not take the drug after the expiration date - 2 years. All information about Vikeira Pak: price, instructions for use, reviews of people undergoing therapy with this medication are summarized in this article.
The use of Viqueira Pak and side effects
The drug in question for the treatment of hepatitis C should be taken with meals, while the calorie content or fat content of the products does not matter. In the morning, you should take two tablets of paritaprevir / ritonavir / ombitasvir, plus one tablet of dasabuvir. The latter must be consumed in the evenings. For some patients, the doctor prescribes taking Vikeira Pak in combination with Ribavirin. If such a therapy is chosen, Vikeira Pak is taken in the amount of six tablets per day:
- in the morning - one dark tablet and two light ones;
- in the evening - one dark;
- twice a day "Ribavirin" in a dosage of 500 mg.
The use of Vikeira Pak (reviews include the comments of experienced professionals) must be agreed with the doctor. If the patient suffers from co-infection with HIV, then the dosage regimen remains the same, plus, necessarily - with meals. The package does not indicate serious side effects from taking the medication. The most common possible deviations, judging by the reviews and instructions, are:
- asthenia;
- skin reactions, including pruritus;
- fast fatiguability;
- lack of sleep;
- nausea.
Treatment plan
For Vikeira Pak, the treatment regimen includes a combination of three drugs developed by EbbWay, plus a pharmacokinetic-type enhancer called Ritonavir. The drug regimen for the treatment of hepatitis C is prescribed for the treatment of HCV (genotype 1a) in combination with Ribavirin. The course should be at least a full 12 weeks. For genotype 1b, the treatment is similar, but without the inclusion of the last drug. In addition, Vikeira Pak (reviews treated by the scheme look more than impressive) is intended for the treatment of patients with compensated cirrhosis. The course is 24 weeks with Ribavirin for genotype 1a, in other cases 12 weeks.
A stable virological response in patients (with genotype 1a) with the absence of cirrhosis was achieved in 97% of cases, and with 1b - 100% with a note that the therapy was of a combined type. With compensated liver cirrhosis, the SVR reached a mark of 95% (therapy lasted 24 weeks) for genotype 1a, in other cases (1b), the mark approached one hundred percent.
Contraindications
The drug "Vikeira Pak" (reviews of those treated confirm this) has, like any drug, a number of contraindications. These include the following:
- decompensation of hepatic function;
- hypersensitivity to ritonavir;
- hemoglobinopathy;
- simultaneously conducted therapy "Didanosine";
- pregnancy;
- taking potent inhibitors;
- reception of strong inductors.
Please note that the use of the drug for children under the age of majority is strictly prohibited. In addition, during lactation, a woman is not recommended to take a course of treatment due to the lack of accurate information on the penetration of Vikeira Pak active substances into breast milk. Be sure to stop breastfeeding.
Caution in use
The American Medicines Quality Control Authority reports that Vikeira Pak and the analogues used to treat hepatitis C can cause permanent liver damage. This is especially true for people with disabilities in the work of a vital organ. For this reason, the manufacturer made certain amendments to the instructions for use of the drug.
If the patient notices that during the course of treatment, frequent fatigue and fatigue occurs, dizziness, vomiting and vomiting often appear, and the skin begins to turn yellow, then it is imperative to seek help from a specialist because there is a possibility of liver damage. In no case should you stop taking the drug without consulting a doctor, as this can lead to the body becoming resistant to other medicines fighting hepatitis. The doctor in the hospital should monitor the patient for some time to eliminate signs of liver dysfunction. These include:
- bleeding from dilated veins of the esophagus;
- ascites;
- increase in bilirubin level;
- encephalopathy.
Medicines such as Vikeira Pak can significantly reduce the amount of hepatitis C virus in the human body, and can also slow down the development of the disease.
Prescribing a new hepatitis C drug to patients
Features of Viekira Pak treatment include a combination of certain doses of several drugs that are used in combination with or without Ribavirin. The drug was approved for the treatment of patients suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and chronic hepatitis C. Before you start using the drug in question, you must inform your doctor about the following:
- the presence of HIV infection;
- other liver diseases besides hepatitis C;
- on the use of contraceptives, including ethinyl estradiol.
It is worth considering that in most cases, side effects from taking the drug are itching and irritation of the skin, lack of sleep and the urge to vomit. According to 2015 data, healthcare professionals have prescribed a drug called Vikeira Pak for more than 11,000 people.
What should every patient undergoing treatment know?
If the patient undergoes a 12- or 24-day course of treatment, you can not stop it without the consent of the doctor. This can lead to the emergence of the body's resistance to other analogous medicines. It is worth remembering that if the patient has an advanced stage of liver pathology, then Vikeira Pak can lead to serious organ damage, including liver failure. Be sure to seek help at the hospital if there is a regular recurrence of symptoms such as vomiting, yellowing of the sclera, a sharp inexplicable loss of appetite, light-colored feces.
Before starting a course of treatment, it is recommended that you read the instructions. Any questions should be discussed with your doctor. You can not withhold any information about the state of health, including the occurring side effects of taking Vikeira Pak.
Safety rating
The safety of Vikeira Pak was evaluated on the basis of data from the second and third phases of clinical trials in nearly 3,000 patients undergoing treatment in combination with Ribavirin and without. Data were also taken into account among patients suffering from cirrhosis. Adverse reactions from the use were observed in 20% of cases. The most common symptoms are nausea and extreme tiredness. Discontinued treatment due to side effects of only 1.15%. They resumed the course after interruption of therapy - 1.4%. Due to the negative reactions of the body to the drug, it was necessary to reduce the dosage of Ribavirin in 8% of patients.
Differences in the response of the body to the drug in patients with and without cirrhosis were not observed. The clinical study involved patients who took Vikeira Pak without Ribavirin. The only reaction noted to the drug in this case is the occurrence of itching on the skin. For this reason, only 0.4% stopped the course of treatment, a break in therapy was made by about 0.6% of patients. The safety assessment of the drug "Vikeira Pak" was carried out according to several parameters (with and without cirrhosis, with the addition of "Ribavirin" and not) and during the entire therapeutic course, that is, 12 weeks and 24.
Estimated cost of Vikeira Pak in Russia and abroad
In the United States of America, Vikeira Pak costs approximately $ 84,000 (including a 12-day course of treatment), the pricing policy in the Russian Federation, as in many other European countries, is significantly different.
At various portals on the Internet, you can see the different costs of an Irish medicine. For medical institutions in Russia, the cost of Vikeira Pak is about 300 thousand rubles for one month of treatment. For a 12-week course you will have to pay about 850-900 thousand rubles. Thus, those who are prescribed therapy at 24 weeks will need to buy a hepatitis C medicine for at least 1.5 million rubles.