KARACHI (Dunya News)
– The supply of injection to as many as 7,000 hepatitis patients under
Sindh government’s control program halted, reported on Sunday.
According to details, the injection supply was stopped despite approving budget of Rs 1 billion last year.
Khairpur city is suffering the most as hepatitis patients are relying on district government for their treatment but the medicines have not yet been purchased.
On the other hand, Sukkur administration has placed posters showing lack of hepatitis injections to avoid pressure from patients.
The patients are also complaining that doctors are recommending expensive tests instead of giving free treatment.
Taking notice of the alarming situation, Chief Minister of Sindh Qaim Ali Shah ordered early solution to the problem and directed the authorities to take action into the matter.
Earlier, Pakistan had authorised the import of an expensive Hepatitis-C drug from the United States to improve treatment for the estimated eight million people carrying the blood infection.
Hailed by experts as a game-changer, Sovaldi, which has been on the market since 2013, costs around $1,000 per pill in the US or $84,000 for a single course of treatment, according to a US Senate report released last December.
The drug is now being sold nationally in a Pakistani pharmacy chain for around $314 per 28 tablets, while the government is urging local manufacturers to produce generic copies on an urgent basis.
Last October Pakistan’s drug authority received 61 applications from pharmaceutical firms to produce Sofosbuvir tablets, the generic name of the drug, of which 14 manufacturers were finally approved.
Gilead Sciences, which makes Sovaldi, has been criticised in the US for the drug’s cost.
The lofty price, set by Gilead, placed Sovaldi and its follow-up drug Harvoni out of reach of many consumers, the US Senate report said.
Hepatitis-C is a blood infection transmitted via contaminated needles, sexual intercourse, and from pregnant mothers to their unborn children.
According to details, the injection supply was stopped despite approving budget of Rs 1 billion last year.
Khairpur city is suffering the most as hepatitis patients are relying on district government for their treatment but the medicines have not yet been purchased.
On the other hand, Sukkur administration has placed posters showing lack of hepatitis injections to avoid pressure from patients.
The patients are also complaining that doctors are recommending expensive tests instead of giving free treatment.
Taking notice of the alarming situation, Chief Minister of Sindh Qaim Ali Shah ordered early solution to the problem and directed the authorities to take action into the matter.
Earlier, Pakistan had authorised the import of an expensive Hepatitis-C drug from the United States to improve treatment for the estimated eight million people carrying the blood infection.
Hailed by experts as a game-changer, Sovaldi, which has been on the market since 2013, costs around $1,000 per pill in the US or $84,000 for a single course of treatment, according to a US Senate report released last December.
The drug is now being sold nationally in a Pakistani pharmacy chain for around $314 per 28 tablets, while the government is urging local manufacturers to produce generic copies on an urgent basis.
Last October Pakistan’s drug authority received 61 applications from pharmaceutical firms to produce Sofosbuvir tablets, the generic name of the drug, of which 14 manufacturers were finally approved.
Gilead Sciences, which makes Sovaldi, has been criticised in the US for the drug’s cost.
The lofty price, set by Gilead, placed Sovaldi and its follow-up drug Harvoni out of reach of many consumers, the US Senate report said.
Hepatitis-C is a blood infection transmitted via contaminated needles, sexual intercourse, and from pregnant mothers to their unborn children.
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