A controversy is brewing over a new cure for hepatitis C because it is extremely expensive and patients in middle-income countries like Malaysia will find it way beyond their budget.
There are an estimated 400,000 Malaysians with hepatitis C, but this is probably a significant under-estimate since many people are not aware that they have the virus.
Worldwide, 170 million people live with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and every year three to four million more are infected, and there are around 350,000 deaths.
Hepatitis C is thus a major public health problem and called a “silent killer” because it can lead to serious liver ailments including cancer for those who are infected.
The good news is that a new drug, sofosbuvir, was approved last year by the American health authorities.
The medicine has an effective rate of around 90%, making it superior to the older medicines which have a lower success rate and some serious side effects.
The bad news is that the producer, the US firm Gilead, put a very high price tag of US$84,000 (RM274,428) for a 12-week course.
Each pill thus costs US$1,000 (RM3,267).