MSF secures generic hepatitis C treatment at $120 v $147,000 launch price tag
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[This press release accompanies the MSF report "Not Even Close", which is
available at www.msfaccess.org/hep-c-not-even-close
Amazing how the prices of good quality hepatitis-c medicines has dropped. At
the World Hepatitis Summit the lowest reported price was $76 for a
pangenotypic treatment (Sofosbuvir + Daclatasvir), but there was no quality
info on this product. The $120 product of Pharco (Egypt) has received ERP,
and is thus available for Global Fund recipients. Their API was also
prequalified by WHO.
It took the world 10 years to put 3 million people on ARVs. In just 3 years
we managed to treat 3 million HCV+ patients. And we cured them nearly all.
68 million HCV+ people are waiting.... WB]
https://www.msfaccess.org/about-us/media-room/press-releases/msf-secures-gen
eric-hepatitis-c-treatment-120-compared-147000
Dramatic price drops should allow countries to provide treatment for
millions of people
Geneva/Sao Paolo, 31 October 2017On the eve of the World Hepatitis Summit
in Sao Paolo, the international medical humanitarian organization Médecins
Sans Frontières (MSF) today announced that it had secured deals for generic
hepatitis C medicines for as low as US$1.40 per day, or $120 per 12-week
treatment course for the two key medicines sofosbuvir and daclatasvir.
In the US, pharmaceutical corporation Gilead launched sofosbuvir at $1,000
per pill in 2013, and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) launched daclatasvir at
$750 per pill in 2015, leading to the original price tag of $147,000 for a
persons 12-week combination treatment course. The corporations have also
been charging exorbitant prices in many developing countries, paralyzing the
launch of national treatment programs and causing treatment rationing in
many countries around the world.
What good is a breakthrough medicine that people cannot afford? asked
Jessica Burry, Pharmacist for MSFs Access Campaign. Pharmaceutical
corporations price hepatitis C medicines far out of reach for people paying
out of pocket around the world, and also for many governments struggling to
provide treatment in the public sectors; but the prices for generic versions
keep coming down. Governments must use every tool in their toolbox to fight
for access to lower-priced generics so they can scale up treatment for the
millions of people who need it; they should follow the lead of countries
like Malaysia and issue compulsory licenses when patents block peoples
access to this life-saving treatment.
In 2015, MSF started procuring sofosbuvir and daclatasvir from Gilead and
BMS through their access programs at a price of $1,400 to $1,800 per
12-week treatment. Today, MSF pays a fraction of that, at $120, sourced from
quality-assured generic manufacturers.
An estimated 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C infection worldwide,
72 per cent of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. Direct-acting
antiviral medicines (DAAs) represent a treatment breakthrough for people
with hepatitis C, with cure rates of up to 95%, and with far fewer side
effects than previous treatments. Yet access to DAAs has remained limited
because pharmaceutical corporations charge unaffordable prices, leading many
countries to reserve treatment only for people with the most advanced stages
of the disease. By the end of 2016, three years after sofosbuvir was
launched, only an estimated 2.1 million people globally had been treated
with the medicines, leaving 69 million people still without access.
These high prices have also put a major strain on health systems in wealthy
countries, in particular those enacting universal health care. Treatment is
being rationed in countries such as Canada, Italy and the US, in addition to
developing countries, and is a stark reminder of the early days of HIV
treatment.
Almost two decades ago, MSF and others worked hard to get access to
generics and bring down prices for HIV medicines, said Mickael Le Paih of
MSF in Cambodia, where MSF treats people living with hepatitis C. History
is repeating itself with hepatitis Cthe medicines we need are again too
expensive, but we are finding ways to make treatment affordable so that our
patients can be cured.
MSF treats people with hepatitis C in 11 countries. Since 2015, MSF has
provided DAA treatment to nearly 5,000 people with hepatitis C. Of those who
have completed treatment to date, the overall cure rate measured by
sustained viral response is 94.9 per cent.
MSF's work on HCV is partially supported by a grant from UNITAID.
Reading Material:
Not Even Close: This issue brief provides information on currently available
HCV diagnostics and treatments, including pricing and registration
information from manufacturers of DAAs
www.msfaccess.org/hep-c-not-even-close