Hepatitis C: voluntary drug licences improve treatment uptake in lower income countries

Voluntary licences that allow low and middle income countries to manufacture patented hepatitis C medicines improve patient access and boost treatment uptake, a study has found.1

Researchers from Imperial College London compared 19 countries that had voluntary licences with 16 countries that did not, and the licences were associated with an increase in the yearly number of people accessing hepatitis C treatment of 53.6 per 1000 diagnoses.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects the liver and leads to an estimated 700 000 deaths worldwide every year. Highly effective direct acting antivirals are available to treat the condition, but access …