But that still will have to wait some years. The compound BMS-790 052 is in the early stages of the race to commercialization and even that has not been tested in a number of patients are not able to confirm its potential. So far, it has been tested in the laboratory – “in vitro” and animal-and small groups of people.

The study was just published by researchers at Bristol-Myers Squibb (the laboratory that owns the new product), received 18 patients. It is, in the words of its authors, “the first clinical validation of NS5A inhibitor, a protein that is essential for virus replication in the cells of our body.

The injection of a single dose of the compound dramatically reduced the viral load of infected individuals and the effects persisted after 144 hours.

The standard therapy against this infection that affects 200 million people around the world is based on the joint administration of two drugs: pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin. Its effectiveness does not exceed 50%, according to labor leaders, who also refer to the “side effects associated with this regimen, which represent an important psychological and physiological burden to the patient.”