VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Malaysia health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah. (File photo: Bernama) - 

The first highly effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drug Sofosbuvir (used in combination with another DAA) had been approved in the United States since 2013. 

The US$84,000 (RM356,000) 12-week treatment was the price of a medium-cost apartment in Kuala Lumpur.

Ravidasvir hydrochloride, available as Ravida Tablet 200mg, had been given conditional approval by the Malaysian Drug Control Authority on Jun 4. Malaysia was the first country in the world to approve its use.

The development of Ravidasvir was initiated by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health and the Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). The clinical studies were funded by Malaysian and Thailand health authorities, as well as other agencies, companies and organisations.

The development of Ravidasvir is the latest episode of Malaysia’s success story in making access to hepatitis C treatment possible.

Touted as the best combination therapy thus far, Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said it is possible to get a 12-week treatment using Ravidasvir and a generic version of Sofosbuvir at a cost of US$100 by getting it produced locally. This is cheaper than the current US$300 Daclatasvir-Sofosbuvir combination.

Patients with HIV co-infection require only a 12-week course compared with the 24-week Daclatasvir-Sofosbuvir, he said in a press conference on Jun 14.

Initial findings published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology on Apr 15 revealed that the Ravidasvir-Sofosbuvir combination showed a 97 per cent efficacy in curing 301 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection in Malaysia and Thailand between Sep 14, 2016 and Jun 5, 2017. 

“Ravidasvir plus Sofosbuvir has the potential to provide an additional affordable, simple, and efficacious public health tool for large-scale implementation to eliminate hepatitis C as a cause of morbidity and mortality,” said the report.

To improve access, the health ministry carried out a nationwide decentralisation of hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment to community clinics, which made it accessible even for patients in rural areas.

The ministry worked with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics to introduce an antibody rapid diagnostic test kit and over 10,000 patients had been treated since March 2018, he said.

The ministry and the Malaysian AIDS Council would embark on a study on hepatitis C self-testing after the WHO launched the first hepatitis C self-testing guidelines on Jul 15//CNA