On April 8, 2013, the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc., filed a New Drug Application claiming to be able to cure hepatitis C. They received the FDA’s coveted Breakthrough Therapy Designation, which is is given to drugs that show significant treatment advantages to existing options.
In an incredibly fast review process, the FDA approved Gilead Sciences’ Sovaldi for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in December of the same year.
The efficacy rate of Sovaldi, when combined with NS5A inhibitors, is nothing short of astonishing, sitting between 94% and 97%. This rate is far better and far safer than any previous treatments for Hep C.