Alliance Ukraine secures affordable life-saving hepatitis C treatment for people living with HIV

The International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine has reached an agreement with MSD, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical producers, to more than halve the cost of a 48 week treatment course for Hepatitis C for its project in Ukraine. Such a substantial price reduction – from $13,200 down to $5000 – will enable Alliance Ukraine to secure Hepatitis C (HCV) treatment for 100 highly vulnerable patients with HIV/HCV co-infection through the procurement of Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin – two key components of the treatment course.

This important HCV treatment initiative is funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and means that the first patients will be enrolled into HCV treatment in Ukraine in early November 2013.

According to Andriy Klepikov, Alliance Ukraine’s Executive Director: “We have managed to overcome the key obstacle when it comes to accessing Hepatitis C treatment – the price. This project should now become a catalyst for change in Ukraine and the wider region.

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