Is There A Way To Cure Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is a life-threatening virus that affects the liver of the infected, and can go unnoticed due to the asymptomatic nature of HCV that makes it hard to self-diagnose.

Symptoms of the hepatitis C virus include: loss of appetite, jaundice, leg swelling, fatigue, and others. Transmission of the disease is spread through blood, meaning health officials can be particularly vulnerable to hepatitis C.

Antiviral drugs are considered the most effective medicine in combating a hepatitis C infection, with the objective being to cure the disease until no trace of the hepatitis C virus is found in the body. The therapy will be considered a success if no trace of HCV is found 12 weeks after completion of the treatment.

DAA Treatment for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

Pan-genotypic (effective against all genotypes of HCV) direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are the recommended therapy for anyone above the age of 12 suffering from a hepatitus C infection. Most people with HCV infection may be cured with DAAs, with the therapy lasting a brief 12-24 weeks of treatement. However, this does not account whether or not cirrhosis is present, which is the permanent scarring of the liver, one of the long term symptoms of hepatitis C.

These DAA treatments can be very costly and extremely tough to access for many populations, particularly those from underserved communities in rural areas.

Ravidasvir, a New Solution for Hepatitis C Infections

To address the issues found in DAA treatments, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases project (DNDi) set a goal in 2016 to produce a safe and effective direct-acting antiviral that would not only be widely available, but also cost-effective. The DNDi then formed a unique multinational collaboration that includes:

• Malaysia's Ministry of Health.
• The Egyptian Pharmaceutical company, Pharco.
• The Malaysian Pharmaceutical company, Pharmaniaga Berhad.
• The non-governmental organization (NGO) Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Together, these organizations worked jointly to develop the drug Ravidasvir.

Ravidasvir, used in combination with Sofosbuvir (another antiviral) has been shown to be 97 to 100% successful in treating hepatitis C in clinical trials. The drug has been granted conditional registration for a safe, effective hepatitis C treatment from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) Malaysia on 4 June 2021, and has been available for wide-scale distribution by Pharmaniaga since November, at merely a fraction of the cost of other available treatments. 

What are the Experts' Opinions on Ravidasvir?

"Our goal is now to help foster the political will and financing needed for wide-scale roll-out of lifesaving testing and treatment for hepatitis C globally,"  said Dr Bernard Pécoul, executive director of DNDi, "the Malaysian example is a showcase of what can be done with the right will, the right partners, and the right tools."

“NPRA approval is a huge milestone for all parties who have been working tirelessly to make a safe, effective, accessible and, most importantly, affordable treatment for hepatitis C in Malaysia," said Datuk Zulkarnain Mohamed Eusope, Pharmaniaga Group Managing Director. "This is a first for us at Pharmaniaga, a generics company, being involved in the development of a new chemical entity. We thank the NPRA for their continuous support, and for prioritizing the approval, obtained within 15 months, compared to standard timelines of two years or more. We hope this latest development will increase options and facilitate access for the public to obtain a more affordable treatment for HCV."

Malaysia has been at the forefront of accelerating the efforts to make treatment options for Hepatitis C accessible to all. They strive to reach the global goal of reducing new viral hepatitis C infections by 90%, and fatalities from viral hepatitis by 65%.