Developing Countries Can Lead in Medical Innovation | by Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan - Project Syndicate

Developing Countries Can Lead in Medical Innovation | by Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan - Project Syndicate

Hepatitis C treatment is no longer prohibitively expensive in the Global South because Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative developed ravidasvir – a low-cost antiviral. Such breakthroughs are possible for other neglected diseases if low- and middle-income countries agree to act collectively.

KUALA LUMPUR – The successful collaboration between the ministries of health of Malaysia and Thailand, industrial partners of Egypt and Malaysia, and the Drugs for Forgotten Diseases (DNDi) initiative to market in 2022 a new antiviral against hepatitis C, ravidasvir, was an important milestone. For years, a 12-week treatment with sofosbuvir cost between $70,000 and $80,000, making it inaccessible to many people in the Global South. However, ravi…