The Food and Drugs Administration was reported to have given their approval for the hepatitis C drug produced by Merck & Co., which is going to be the first new treatment for the disease in 20-years.

The new pill, Victrelis has been revealed to use lesser period of time to cure patients, when compared to other drugs that have been used for hepatitis C. Also, the pill is said to block enzyme protease, which helps hepatitis to reproduce.

A similar drug called Incivek, that can cure Hepatitis C as effectively as Victrelis, has been reported to be awaiting approval and it’s from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge.

Hepatitis C is said to be a blood borne disease, which is suffered by 3.2 million people in the US and causes the death of 12,000 people each year.

The FDA attributed the approval of the drugs to the results of two test trails, where 65% of the patients were cured, after combining Victrelis with two other drugs that were use.

In addition, some of the patients were reported to have been cured from being on the drugs for only 7 month, which is less than the time needed for current drugs to take effect.