The Government of Rwanda has agreed with Gilead Industry, an American pharmaceutical company, to reduce the cost of Hepatitis C drugs. The current price has reduced from 95,000 USD to 1200 USD.
On 5th February 2015, the Ministry of Health announced that it had engaged in negotiations with Gilead industry from United States to cut down cost of Hepatitis C medicaments.
As Dr Mbitumuremyi Aimable, head of the program of liver related diseases prevention and Sexually Transmissible Diseases at RBC has told IGIHE, negotiations brought fruitful result of the reduction of prices.
He says that the reduction is good news for Rwandans, particularly hepatitis patients since the price has reduced 80 times.
“The reduction of the cost of hepatitis drugs comes as a relief. More than 60% of patients who received the treatment were not cured yet new medicaments heal the disease 100%,”he said.
The number of injections has reduced to an administration period of 11 months to swallowing 29 tablets of ‘Solvardi’ at a cost of 300 USD consumed within one month while the second category ‘Harvoni’ pills at 400 USD also supposed to be consumed in one month.
Dr Mbituyumuremyi reveals that the cost has been reduced tremendously since one pill costs USD14 in Rwanda while it costs USD1000 in America.
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