PETALING JAYA: A hepatitis C drug partly developed in Malaysia has been added to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of essential medicines (EML).
The WHO endorsed the use of ravidasvir in combination with sofosbuvir as a direct acting antiviral for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in adults.
Hepatitis C is transmitted through blood. If untreated, it can progress to liver cirrhosis, scarring, and subsequently cancer.
Former health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Malaysia led the effort to list the drug.
“The ravidasvir listing on the WHO EML is another milestone for Malaysia in its journey of developing a cost-effective hepatitis C drug. It addresses healthcare access, affordability and equity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
“This addition to the list would mean many more member states and civil society groups can gain access to this affordable medicine and eliminate hepatitis C by 2030,” Noor Hisham, now a board member of DNDi, told FMT.
DNDi, or Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, is an international, not-for-profit research and development organisation.
The development of ravidasvir was initiated by Malaysia’s health ministry and DNDi, in partnership with Thailand’s health ministry, Médecins Sans Frontières, Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Pharco Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaniaga Berhad.
Malaysia approved the use of ravidasvir hydrochloride in June 2021.
The listing is historically significant for Malaysia and the world because the first highly effective hepatitis C drug, sofosbuvir, used to cost more than RM300,000 for a 12-week treatment.
Malaysian patients could not get the drug because it was too costly for the government to import, so the health ministry had to explore various other ways to allow patients access to treatment.
In 2016, it began working with DNDi, which led to the development of ravidasvir-sofosbuvir treatment.
At the same time, the ministry managed to gain access to a generic version of sofosbuvir from Egypt at a fraction of the original cost and combined the use with daclatasvir. The treatment was made available in public hospitals in March 2018, three years ahead of the sofosbuvir-ravidasvir combination-drug treatment.
According to the WHO, the updated EML lists, which had included ravidasvir (in combination with sofosbuvir), aim to facilitate greater access to innovative medicines that show clear clinical benefits.
These treatments could have a huge impact on public health globally without jeopardising the budgets of low- and middle-income countries.
Noor Hisham said: “We do what is right for the people. It feels good when you are able to make a difference in healthcare.”
He added that this was Malaysia’s gift to World Hepatitis Day 2023.
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that for more than 40 years, countries all over the world had relied on the WHO EML as a definitive, evidence-based guide for the most important medicines for delivering the biggest health impact.
“Rising prices and supply chain disruptions mean that all countries now face increasing problems in ensuring consistent and equitable access to many quality-assured essential medicines.
“WHO is committed to supporting all countries to overcome these obstacles to increase access with equity,” he said last week. - FMT
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