The Sovaldi drug for the treatment of Hepatitis C has disappeared from the market, which threatens President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s initiative to treat one million patients.
Sources said the US company did not supply the agreed quantities because the Health Ministry did not follow up with the company and has instead been depending on the locally produced drug.
They also said that Health Minister Ahmed Emad Eddin did not take necessary actions needed to implement the president's initiative, and that there is a shortage of the local drug because the ministry does not follow up on production and distribution with pharmaceutical companies.
Khaled Amin, a patient, said he did not find the drug at the ministry's liver centers and had to buy it for LE25,000 from a private pharmacy. “When the pack was finished and I had to buy another one, I could not find any,” he said. “God help me.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
