The hepatitis C drug Sovaldi will be available on the market in May, according to Health Ministry Spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar.
The medication is currently being examined on some patients to test its effectiveness and make sure that it is identical to the US-made treatment, he said. The new pills will be available at a preliminary price of LE2,670 (per package) at pharmacies, and LE1,400 at liver centers affiliated to the National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis. The government will assume the costs of treatment for those unable to pay for it.
In related news, Medhat Hosny, the head of the Liver Virus Treatment Center at Alexandria’s Al-Qebary Public Hospital, said that approximately 92 percent of patients with hepatitis C responded to Sovaldi.
Two hundred and ninety patients responded to the treatment since they first started it in October and 22 of them finished the first three-month treatment period, Hosny told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Medical testing was carried out for some patients to determine the effectiveness of the drug. The results came back negative. Further analysis will be conducted to determine full recovery. Twenty-four patients have yet to fully recuperate and are being treated further.
Egypt is known to have the highest rate of hepatitis C infections in the world due to poverty and lack of proper sanitation.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
