Scientists at GlaxoSmithKline are trying to find a drug to treat the strain of Hepatitis C, subtype 1a, the most prevalent version in the United States.
That's not the variation that's typically found in the rest of the world, and only tiny percentage of the 170 million people worldwide who have the disease live in the United States. But since the U.S. is a rich country, pharmaceutical companies are hunting for a treatment for Hepatitis C subtype 1a.
At the ACS meeting on Sunday, David Haigh of GSK told the story of a new Hepatitis C drug called GSK625433 that is currently in clinical trials. Scientists tested many chemicals until finding one that works well for both subtypes 1a and 1b, the second most common variety in the United States and a leader elsewhere.
The new drug works by targeting an enzyme called NS5B, which is is an RNA polymerase. In other words, it prevents the virus from copying itself. Since humans do not directly copy their RNA, a drug that only prevents RNA polymerases from working should be safe for humans.
