With an eye toward making a low-cost hepatitis C treatment available in numerous countries, a nonprofit says that a mid-stage study showed an experimental combination of two pills appeared safe and effective, while offering high cure rates for hard-to-treat patients.
The results were greeted with enthusiasm by patient advocacy groups, because once testing is completed, the nonprofit hopes to register the combination treatment in middle-income countries, starting with Malaysia, where it could be sold for $300, or about half the price of existing treatment in that country.
“This could change the dynamic,” said Isabelle Andrieux-Meyer, who heads clinical development at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, the nonprofit that sponsored the trial and licensed rights to one of the two treatments. “We hope to provide a cure at an affordable cost to people in many countries that are excluded from access deals.”
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