Generic Harvoni and Daclatasvir

Here is a worrying post from Gilead’s website... Thanks to David for bringing it to our attention. NOT a surprise but annoying.

“There can be no guarantee that marketing approval for Harvoni® will be granted in any of the low- and middle-income countries where registration is pending; any marketing approval, if granted, may have significant limitations on its use.”

The most likely containment procedure that Gilead might put in place is limiting sales to a one month supply at a time. This is what was done in Pakistan with Sovaldi.

Once again I am appalled at the greed of these huge, wealthy drug companies. That they should plot and scheme of ways to make obscene profits while people die slow and terrible deaths knowing that the cure is there but is being priced out of their reach. Not because the drug is expensive to make but because the makers are just so damn greedy!!!

Generic versions of Harvoni are the big hope for people with Hep C genotype 1. However there are alternatives, such as Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir. This combination is also very effective against a number of Hep C genotypes but being treated with a combination of the two branded versions is even more expensive than Harvoni!  A three month Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir treatment would cost you about US$135,000

Now here I am going to stick my neck out here and say that I know of a number of people who have purchased generic Daclatasvir from Mesochem in China. 

The product is in concentrated powder form with 6 grams of concentrate constituting an 84 dose lot for a 3 month treatment and cost is about US$200 delivered. These same people have had the product tested and it tests pure and bona fide. They have also found chemists with the skills and expertise to divide the concentrate into the correct doses and put it into capsules with the appropriate filler and the correct capsule type, apparently it is not a hard thing to organise.

The people who have done this are pioneers and are getting good results for their brave choices.

Here I must make very clear that I have no connection at all with Mesochem. I have emailed their representative Rachel several times to discuss the product, the company and prices. If a person should choose to try this path then they would have to contact Rachel directly and deal with her. It is a choice that a person must make themselves based on the best available information and medical advice.

I can also say that I know of two doctors and some other medical groups that have chosen this particular course.

The contact person is Rachel, email: rachel@mesochem.com

I would like to point out that the factories that make the licensed generic Sofosbuvir in India are inspected and approved by numerous international authorities. For example Cipla, which makes Hepcvir is approved by US FDA, WHO-Geneva, MHRA-UK, TGA-Australia, SUKL-Slovak Republic, APVMA-Australia, MCC-South Africa, PIC-Germany, Danish Medical Agency, ANVISA-Brazil, INVIMA- Colombia, NDA-Uganda, Department of Health-Canada and MOH-Saudi Arabia and a whole lot more. I consider that there is an underlieing racist Paranoia in this perception that because a drug is not made in a “first world” country then it is immediately suspect.

It continually surprises me that this type of totally illogical fear of fake, or counterfeit, medicines also arises amongst educated medical professionals. Of course there are counterfeit medicines just like there are counterfeit Rayban sunglasses and counterfeit Rolexes and counterfeit dollar bills but this does not stop us buying sunglasses or Rolexes or using dollar bills. It just means use a little common sense when buying these things. Know the supplier. If you buy a set of Raybans off a guy selling them from a barrow in a side street then there is a pretty good chance they are going to be fakes. If you buy them from a shop that is an authorised Rayban dealer and has been in business for 40 years from the same premises then you can be pretty sure that you are buying real Raybans; it’s not rocket science it’s just common sense. The same applies to generic drugs. Do the research it’s not hard. If you are not sure than ask someone who knows.

Many of these medical professionals who are so fearful of fake meds, particularly in the UK but also in other countries such as Australia, do not even know that it is perfectly legal for their patients to import these medications for personal use. This is very surprising given that such information is so important to helping patients with Hep C achieve good health outcomes.

Some people have suggested to me that this ’ignorance’ is actually the result of a sustained campaign of misinformation mounted by Big Pharma to try to stem the flow of generics into first world countries.