CAIRO: Minister of Health Adel al-Adawy announced that two new hepatitis C drugs, Harvoni and Viekira, are to be available at the hepatitis treatment centers by next November, youm7 reported Wednesday.
There are 2.3 million hepatitis C patients in Egypt, while 996,642 patients applied on the website of the National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis to be treated by Sovaldi until last June, according to Adawy.
He added that 85,536 patients were provided with the treatment until the end of June.
According to the treatment protocols of hepatitis C treatment centers, response rate of Sovaldi is 92.7 percent, said Adawy.
Egypt is planning to sell Sovaldi, the American-engineered hepatitis C treatment, at a price of 600 EGP ($80) per bottle, which is four times cheaper than its U.S. equivalent, Adawy told Youm7 June 13.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, Egypt has the highest rate of hepatitis C infection in the world; 14.7 percent of the population between ages 15-49 have tested positive for the virus.
In September 2014, Egypt imported 225,000 Sovaldi bottles from the U.S., manufactured by the Gilead Science Company, and also a received a similar amount in March 2015.
The sticker price for the drug is approximately $1,000 per pill in the U.S. market, with a 12-week course of treatment amounting to $84,000 according to Forbes magazine.
However the manufacturer has provided stores of the medication to Egypt for a 99% discount, with Cairo subsidizing much of the remaining costs to provide treatment to its citizens.