Efficacy of Obeticholic acid

Obeticholic acid (Obeticholic acid) was compared with placebo (a dummy treatment) in a major study involving 217 adults with primary cholangitis who either had been taking ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) for at least 1 year or were unable to take UDCA. The measure of effectiveness is based on the number of patients whose blood levels of bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP, a marker of liver damage) substances are reduced by at least 15% (for ALP) and below a specific value considered normal (for bilirubin) after 1 year of treatment.

The study showed that obeticholic acid was more effective than placebo in reducing blood levels of bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase, with 47% of patients treated with obeticholic acid 10 mg reducing levels by the required amount and 46% of patients treated with obeticholic acid at increasing doses (from 5 mg to 10 mg) reducing levels by the required amount, compared with a 10% reduction in levels in patients taking placebo.

The original drug of obeticholic acid has not yet been marketed in the country, so it has not been included in medical insurance. The original obeticholic acid drug marketed overseas is expensive, with each box costing around tens of thousands of yuan. The price is also affected by exchange rates and is unstable. It is understood that obeticholic acid has been produced as a generic drug and its ingredients are basically the same as those of the original drug. For example, the price of 5mg*30 tablets produced by a Bangladesh pharmaceutical factory is around RMB 1,000 per box (the price may fluctuate due to the exchange rate), and the price is cheap. For more drug information and specific prices, please consult a medical consultant.