Norton Calls Partnership Between NIH and Unity Health Care to Cure Hepatitis C a Breakthrough

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today spoke at a press conference hosted by Unity Health Care at its Parkeside Health Center to help announce Unity's role in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) groundbreaking study treating patients for hepatitis C with a newly approved medication, Harvoni, at community sites. The District of Columbia is one of 11 sites participating in the study. There may be as many as 45,000 D.C. residents with chronic hepatitis C infection and most do not know it.

"Finally, we have what looks like the first effective drug for hepatitis C and Unity Health Care is going to be able to dispense it free of charge in the community," Norton said. "Hepatitis C is a silent virus that sometimes teams up with HIV and can destroy the liver, a particularly vital organ. I am very proud that Unity has earned its designation as a site for these trials."