Pharma Refuses to Ensure Access to Lifesaving Hepatitis C Treatment at Global Meeting

AIDS activists, including people living with HIV, people living with HCV, people who inject drugs (PWID), and their allies, are fighting for access to a new generation of HCV drugs—called direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). These drugs offer the potential to eradicate HCV; they have cured up to 100 percent of people in clinical trials.

All of the companies refused to commit to price reductions that would allow affordable access for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), home to more than 85 percent of the 185 million people living with HCV. Even Roche and Merck, producers of older, soon-to-be-obsolete HCV drugs, refused to lower prices to affordable levels.

In high-income countries, DAA treatment costs US$140,000, although DAAs are cheap to produce. According to an analysis by academic experts, it costs less than US$250 for a 12-week DAA regimen. [1] “This level of greed is inexcusable, and keeps the cure out of reach for almost everyone who needs these drugs,” says Shiba Phurailatpam, regional coordinator of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+).

“Most people cannot afford HCV treatment—nor can their governments,” explains Paata Sabelashvili of the Georgian Harm Reduction Network. “My government, like others in the Eastern European region, is launching a national treatment program, but astronomically high prices will limit it. How can governments and donors effectively address HCV if Pharma refuses to drop drug prices?”

The strategies currently employed by these pharmaceutical companies, that include delayed drug registration, voluntary licensing, and patient assistance programs, are less likely to facilitate better access in LMICs. “Governments should use every means available to them, including compulsory licenses, to protect public health and expand access to DAAs, even where they are patented,” said Lorena Di Giano, general coordinator of the Red Latinoamericana por el Acceso a Medicamentos (RedLAM).

We are deeply committed to strategies that allow generic production of DAAs. Access to affordable generic drugs brought down HIV drug prices from US$10,000 to under US$100, saving millions of lives. People living with HCV deserve access to treatment; they should not become hostages to Pharma greed.

1st HCV World CAB Participant List

East and Southeast Asia
Jirasak Sripramong, Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG), Thailand
Dr. Kieu Thi Mai Huong, SCDI, Vietnam
Dr. Lisa Peiching Huang, Médecins du Monde, Vietnam
Edo Agustian, PKNI, Indonesia
Aditya Wardhana, IAC, Indonesia
Do Dang Dong, VNP+, Vietnam
Zhang Bo, Yunnan IDA, China
Thomas Cai, AIDS Care China
Odilon Couzin, Hong Kong
Shiba Phurailatpam, Thailand
Giten Khwairakpam, Thailand
Kajal Bhardwaj, India
Paul Cawthorne, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Thailand
Dr. Gonzague Jourdain, Thailand

Eastern Europe/Central Asia
Paata Sabelashvili, Georgian Harm Reduction Network, Georgia
Sergey Golovin, ITPC-Russia
Ludmila Maistat, The HIV/AIDS Alliance-Ukraine

U.S./Europe
Karyn Kaplan, Treatment Action Group, United States
Tracy Swan, Treatment Action Group, United States
Khalil Elouardighi, Coalition Plus, France
Noah Metheny, Global Forum on MSM & HIV, United States
Camila Picchio, Treatment Action Group, United States
Simon Collins, HIV i-Base, United Kingdom
Chloé Forette, Médecins du Monde, France
Pauline Londeix, Act Up-Basel/ITPC, France
Jude Byrne, International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), United Kingdom
Jorrit Kabel, AIDS Fonds, The Netherlands
Els Torreele, Open Society Foundations, United States
Azzi Momenghalibaf, Open Society Foundations, United States
Tahir Amin, I-MAK, United States
Priti Radhakrishnan, I-MAK, United States

Africa
Abshiro Halake, Kenya Red Cross Society
Ed Ngoksin, Global Network of PLWHA (GNP+), South Africa

Middle East/North Africa
Heba Wanis, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
Dr. Mustapha Sodqi, ALCS (Association de Lutte Contre le Sida), Morocco
Othman Mellouk, ITPC-MENA, Morocco

Islands
Nudhar Bundhoo, Prévention Information et Lutte contre le Sida (PILS), Mauritius

Latin America
Lorena Di Giano, Red Latinoamericana por el Acceso a Medicamentos – RedLAM, Argentina