Hope for Hepatitis C patients

Right to get treatment: It was reported last year that there were 400,000 Hepatitis C sufferers in Malaysia, with only a fraction who could afford the RM300,000 cost. — AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Two months after Malaysia received world recognition for taking steps to provide affordable medicine for Hepatitis C sufferers, it is learnt that 18 state hospitals are ready to roll out the treatment, with up to 400,000 patients likely to benefit.

This access to the affordable medicine comes after the Government issued a compulsory licence (CL) to import or produce the generic versions of sofosbuvir – one of the drug combinations used for Hepatitis C treatment.