WHO recognizes Egypt's efforts in Hepatitis C treatment

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Egypt's efforts in Hepatitis C treatment, saying the country achieved a great success as regards licensing agreements and the local production of new Hepatitis C drugs.

A new WHO report, Global Report on Access to Hepatitis C Treatment: Focus on Overcoming Barriers, showed that the price of a three-month treatment in Egypt dropped from US$900 in 2014 to less than US$200 in 2016.

Over one million people in low- and middle-income countries have been treated with a revolutionary new cure for hepatitis C since its introduction two years ago, the report said.

When Direct Acting Antivirals (DAAs) were first approved for hepatitis C treatment in 2013, there were widespread fears that their high price would put them out of reach for the more than 80 million people with chronic hepatitis C infections worldwide.

The new medicines have a cure rate of over 95%, fewer side effects than previously available therapies, and can completely cure the disease within three months. But at an initial estimated price of some US$85 000 they were unaffordable even in high-income countries.

"Licensing agreements and local production in some countries have gone a long way to make these treatments more affordable. 

But there are still huge differences between what countries are paying. Some middle-income countries, which bear the largest burden of hepatitis C, are still paying very high prices. 

Among middle-income countries, the price for a three-month treatment of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir varies greatly. Costs range from US$9 400 in Brazil to US$79 900 in Romania.

In May 2016, at the World Health Assembly, 194 countries adopted the first-ever Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, agreeing to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. The strategy includes a target to treat 80% of people in need by this date.

Source: MENA