Farmaci, l'epatite delta e le nuove cure per la malattia al centro del 44° Congresso nazionale SIFO
(Adnkronos) - "Il virus dell’epatite delta, uno dei più pericolosi e rari, colpisce secondo le stime tra i 6000 e i 10.000 pazienti in Italia. E’ questo uno dei dati più rilevanti emersi dal simposio “Innovazione nel trattamento dell’HDV, la meno conosciuta ma la più aggressiva tra le epatiti virali” che si è tenuto con il contributo non condizionante di Gilead in occasione del 44° Congresso nazionale della società italiana farmacia ospedaliera a Roma
La patologia, curata fino a poco tempo fa principalmente con il trattamento dell’interferone alfa, che spesso presentava problemi e contro indicazioni, oggi può essere contrastata con un nuovo farmaco antivirale, la bulevertide."
La patologia, curata fino a poco tempo fa principalmente con il trattamento dell’interferone alfa, che spesso presentava problemi e contro indicazioni, oggi può essere contrastata con un nuovo farmaco antivirale, la bulevertide."
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NewsTranscript
00:00 The Delta virus, one of the most dangerous and rare, is estimated to affect between 6,000
00:10 and 10,000 patients in Italy.
00:12 This is one of the most relevant data from the Symposium "Innovation in the Treatment
00:17 of HIV", the least known but the most aggressive among viral hepatitis, which has been held
00:22 with the non-conditioning contribution of Gilead on the occasion of the 44th National Congress
00:27 of the Italian Hospitality Pharmaceutical Society in Rome.
00:30 The pathology, treated until recently, mainly with the treatment of the alpha interferon,
00:36 which often presented problems and contraindications, today can be contrasted with a new antiviral
00:41 drug, the wulevertide.
00:43 The Delta hepatitis virus is a very small virus, among the smallest viruses that can
00:49 infect men and women, but it is a highly dangerous virus.
00:54 We have the transmission of the Delta hepatitis virus through two fundamental methods, exposure
01:02 to blood or unprotected sexual intercourse.
01:05 In Italy we have to calculate that we are talking about perhaps 6,000 up to 10,000, but we have
01:12 to be very careful with estimates.
01:15 Why?
01:16 Because not all patients with hepatitis B have a test for the Delta.
01:20 In some cases, even 26% do not have the test, so we have to fill the epidemic gap.
01:27 Until recently, the only treatment we had available for patients with chronic infection
01:33 from Delta B and from Delta, so to treat the Delta, was the alpha interferon.
01:38 The alpha interferon was used as an off-label indication, so it does not have a formal approval
01:47 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis and Delta.
01:50 It also has many limitations, it has toxicity problems, it has many contraindications,
01:58 and then the effectiveness is modest.
01:59 So the advent of wulevertide represents a really important breakthrough for our patients,
02:05 because finally we have a therapeutic option.
02:09 This is an antiviral drug that blocks the entry of the virus into the liver, and we have
02:14 data that has been used by the EMA, the European Medicine Agency, but also by the AIFA in
02:23 Italy, data that has been used for approval.
02:26 A therapy that is changing the treatment scenario for the Delta hepatitis, being a drug
02:32 taken in the form of self-administration, thus allowing the patient to ask more
02:36 easily for advice from the hospital pharmacist on the modalities.
02:40 The Delta hepatitis is a rare form of hepatitis, the rarest of hepatitis, but the most serious,
02:47 because patients can progress rapidly in cirrhosis.
02:50 It is little known, in Italy there are about 2,000 patients with Delta hepatitis, and so far
02:58 we have not had any drug for the treatment.
03:02 So certainly the entry into the trade, or introduction into the trade of the new treatment,
03:07 is changing the treatment scenario.
03:10 The hospital pharmacist has a role that adapts to changes, so he responds immediately
03:19 to the changing needs of the clinical and organizational.
03:21 When we are faced with the entry into the trade of a drug such as Bulevirtide, which is
03:28 a conditioned innovative drug, there is an impact on the organization that must be
03:36 remodeled precisely to better respond to the assistance needs.
03:39 It is obvious that considerations must also be made of an economic nature.
03:44 So in reality what the hospital pharmacist does and is doing, together with the infectious
03:52 disease department, is to evaluate which patients are eligible for treatment.