CHAI and The Hepatitis Fund Announce Pricing Breakthrough to Reduce Cost of Viral Hepatitis Treatment by Over 90 Percent
— Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with leading generic manufacturers to secure historic ceiling prices for life-saving hepatitis B and C treatments
— Pricing commitment announced at inaugural Global Hepatitis Resource Mobilization Conference in Geneva
Geneva, May 18, 2023: The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and The Hepatitis Fund today announced two new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to dramatically lower the price of World Health Organization (WHO)-prequalified hepatitis B and C drugs in low- and middle-income countries. These MoUs were announced at the inaugural Global Hepatitis Resource Mobilization Conference, in Geneva on May 17, 2023. Through these announcements, leading generic manufacturers Viatris and Hetero pledged their support to hepatitis elimination by 2030.
Globally, over 80 per cent of people living with hepatitis lack access to prevention, testing, and treatment services. The new price agreements are part of a concerted effort by partners to increase access to hepatitis treatment. These new drug prices will significantly reduce the cost of treatment to low-middle-income countries, and scale up hepatitis programs to meet growing demand, all towards eliminating hepatitis.
Both manufacturers will now offer World Health Organization (WHO)-prequalified Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir, a 12-week, once-daily oral treatment for hepatitis C, at a ceiling price of US$60 per patient course of treatment.
Additionally, Viatris and Hetero will offer WHO-prequalified and/or US FDA-approved Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) 300 mg single tablets, used for Hepatitis B treatment (once-daily lifelong oral treatment) at a ceiling price of US$2.4 per 30 tablets – a month’s course of treatment.
These ceiling prices are the lowest prices for WHO-prequalified hepatitis B and C drugs globally. They represent over a 90 percent reduction from the lowest cost of hepatitis C treatment by originators in 2016 and align the price of TDF for hepatitis B with that of TDF used in HIV treatment.
The Hepatitis Fund will direct resource mobilization efforts for the procurement of these drugs through implementing partners, governments, and other procurement agents.
CHAI will continue to work with donors and partner governments to strengthen hepatitis programs in low- and middle-income countries, increasing demand for services, mobilizing resources for procurement of medicines, and supporting access to medicines.
Quotes from partners
“We are sitting on the precipice of a public health emergency, one that threatens to kill more people than HIV, TB and Malaria combined if nothing changes. This pricing commitment marks the beginning of that change.”
– Finn Jarle Rhode, Executive Director of the Hepatitis Fund
“By dramatically reducing the cost of viral hepatitis treatment in low- and middle-income countries, these commitments will substantially reduce the level of funding required to eliminate hepatitis. This announcement is a catalyst for countries already working toward elimination and will enable the treatment of many more patients with the limited resources that are already on the table.”
– Dr. David Ripin, CHAI Executive Vice President of Infectious Diseases and Chief Science Officer
“We are pleased to join hands with The Clinton Health Access Initiative and The Hepatitis Fund in this access initiative. Reducing the costs of Hepatitis B and C treatments will ensure affordability and accessibility to millions in low – and middle-income countries and is a major step towards elimination of hepatitis by 2030.”
– Dr. Vamsi Krishna Bandi, Managing Director, Hetero Group of Companies.
“This historic agreement supports Viatris’ long-standing efforts to reduce the burden of infectious diseases like hepatitis leveraging the organization’s scientific, medical, manufacturing, and commercial expertise to develop holistic, integrated solutions for the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis. We seek to broaden access to these life-saving hepatitis medications across geographies as part of our broader goal to make quality treatment available faster and at more affordable prices to patients in low- and middle-income countries.”
– Rakesh Bamzai, President – India Emerging Asia & Access Markets, Viatris
About the partners
About The Hepatitis Fund
The Hepatitis Fund (THF), based in Geneva, is the only grant-making organization working on hepatitis elimination. We mobilize public and private resources to eliminate viral hepatitis as a global health threat. We provide grants to selected programmes and projects with high impact, build financial partnerships, offer technical support on health financing and advocate for increased national and international funding to eliminate viral hepatitis. Our expertise lies in defining, in collaboration with the hepatitis community, which investments will have a truly catalytic effect and then making, managing, and monitoring those investments. For more information, please visit www.endhep2030.org
About CHAI
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries. We work with our partners to strengthen the capabilities of governments and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/
About Viatris
Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ: VTRS) is a global healthcare company empowering people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life. We provide access to medicines, advance sustainable operations, develop innovative solutions and leverage our collective expertise to connect more people to more products and services through our one-of-a-kind Global Healthcare Gateway®. Formed in November 2020, Viatris brings together scientific, manufacturing and distribution expertise with proven regulatory, medical, and commercial capabilities to deliver high-quality medicines to patients in more than 165 countries and territories. Viatris’ portfolio comprises more than 1,400 approved molecules across a wide range of therapeutic areas, spanning both non-communicable and infectious diseases, including globally recognized brands, complex generic and branded medicines, and a variety of over-the-counter consumer products. With more than 38,000 colleagues globally, Viatris is headquartered in the U.S., with global centers in Pittsburgh, Shanghai and Hyderabad, India. Learn more at viatris.com and investor.viatris.com, and connect with us on Twitter at @ViatrisInc, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
About Hetero
Hetero is a globally renowned vertically integrated pharmaceutical organization engaged in research and development, manufacturing, and marketing of high-quality chemical and biologic medicines across diverse therapeutic areas. Backed by 30 years of pharmaceutical excellence, Hetero’s strategic business areas spread across APIs, Global Generics, Biosimilars and Custom Pharmaceutical Services. The company is among the largest producers of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in the world. For more information on Hetero, please visit www.hetero.com.
To learn more about the pricing deal for generic viral hepatitis medicines, click on the link here.
Source: CHAI