HEPATITIS C is curable and yet thousands of Malaysian patients do not have access to effective treatment for this highly infectious disease.
The data available suggests that more than 500,000 Malaysians are living with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Most people infected with HCV are unaware of their status until it has progressed to advanced liver disease, liver failure or cancer.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 150 million people worldwide have chronic Hepatitis C infection and 500,000 die annually.
Until recently, treatment for Hepatitis C was based on therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, which had poor outcomes and was accompanied by life-threatening side-effects. New oral direct-acting antivirals have since revolutionised HCV treatment, with cure rates exceeding 90%, shorter treatment duration and good safety profiles. A simple regime of these new antivirals for a period of 12 or 24 weeks can cure patients.
A critical backbone in the treatment of HCV is the drug sofosbuvir sold by a multinational pharmaceutical corporation, Gilead, which has entered into licensing agreements with a number of generic drug companies, allowing such companies to manufacture and sell generic sofosbuvir to 101 developing countries. But this arrangement excludes Malaysia, thus making it extremely difficult for Malaysians to gain access to affordable HCV treatment.
Gilead sells sofosbuvir (brand name Sovaldi) in the United States for US$64,680, in France for US$41,885 and in Brazil for US$6,875.
In 2015, a patient in a Malaysian private hospital that had obtained permission to use the drug was charged RM385,000 for a 24-week course. According to sources, Sovaldi is presently retailing in Malaysia for RM144,000 for a 12-week course. At this price, life-saving Hepatitis C treatment is beyond the reach of most Malaysians.
A recent WHO report on access to Hepatitis C treatment reveals how a developing country such as Egypt has managed to treat around 670,000 people with the new antivirals in 2015 and 2016. Due to competition with the generic version, sofosbuvir is available in Egypt for as low as US$150.
Affordable generic sofosbuvir is also available from countries such as India and Bangladesh. In India, for instance, generic sofosbuvir is available for about US$300 for a 12-week treatment course.
Patients in Malaysia do not have access to any of these affordable treatments, however. Currently, the Health Ministry is undertaking a clinical trial with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and Pharco Pharmaceuticals for a combination of sofosbuvir and ravidasvir at a price of less than US$300. While a commendable step, this clinical trial is only for 600 patients, which is inadequate to address the scale of HCV infection in this country.
Malaysia urgently needs access to affordable Hepatitis C treatment if we are to treat the hundreds of thousands of patients infected with HCV. The Government needs to take prompt action to gain access to affordable sofosbuvir.
One clear option available is to use the flexibilities available in the Malaysian Patents Act and issue a “government use” licence to import affordable generic sofosbuvir for use in government hospitals.
It is worth recalling that a recent report by the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines clearly recommended that member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), including Malaysia, make full use of flexibilities allowed in the WTO’s intellectual property rules to promote access to health technologies when necessary.
Many lives are at stake and there is simply no reason to wait. Hence, CAP calls on the Government, in particular the Health Ministry, to act now to secure access to affordable treatment for this potentially deadly disease.
S. M. MOHAMED IDRIS
President
Consumers Association of Penang