FRIDAY, March 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) prescribing for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection peaked in 2015, then declined, according to a research letter published online March 25 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Sanjay Kishore, M.D., from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, and colleagues measured changes in patient and prescriber characteristics for DAAs from 2013 to 2025 in a cross-sectional study.
The researchers found that from 2013 to 2025, an estimated 1.3 million courses of DAA were dispensed, with the highest annual volume in 2015, declining to 2025 (185,677 to 68,523 courses). Prior to the introduction of newer regimens in 2016, which can be used to treat all HCV genotypes, prescribing reached its maximum number of courses. In 2015, most prescriptions were accounted for by Medicare and commercial insurance (36.8 and 44.7 percent, respectively), while the largest share in 2025 was accounted for by Medicaid (48.7 percent). Specialist prescribing declined from a peak in 2015 to 2025 (66.1 percent of DAA courses to 28.3 percent). Over time, there was a shift in the age distribution of patients being prescribed DAAs, with adults aged older than 61 years accounting for 41.8 and 26.0 percent of patients in 2015 and 2025, respectively; individuals younger than 40 years increased from 5.4 to 28.9 percent.
"Hepatitis C is a curable disease, but current treatment levels are substantially below what's needed to achieve national elimination targets," Kishore said in a statement.
One author disclosed serving as an expert witness against pharmaceutical companies, and one disclosed ties to a health insurance company.