Cure for Cirrhosis Discovered?

Japanese scientists have discovered a way to cure liver cirrhosis in rats. They believe the technique could also be used in humans. They say the drug might be ready in a "few years"...

If it is true, and a drug is created for people, does that mean it will be ready for patient dispensing in a few years? or maybe just for human test trials?

This is good news though, because it signals that there are PhDs working on total cures for cirrhosis, without getting a transplant. The discovery was made in Japan, but with the way the pharmaceutical industry is going, any drug development overseas will eventually go global, with a timeline depending on demand... AND considering this story ranked #1 on yahoo's most read news - I'd say demand will be high in the states:

Here is the story on the cirrhosis cure.