Pharmaceutical industry payments and prescriptions of direct acting antiviral drugs for hepatitis C virus infection.

The article published in Liver International explores the relationship between pharmaceutical industry payments and physician prescription patterns for direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) used to treat hepatitis C virus infection in the United States. The study found that physicians who received payments from DAA manufacturers were more likely to prescribe specific DAAs, such as ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, elbasvir/grazoprevir, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, and glecaprevir/pibrentasvir. The findings suggest that industry payments may influence physician prescribing practices, impacting Medicare spending on these medications. The study highlights the importance of transparency and ethical considerations in interactions between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers. [Extracted from the article]