HEPATITIS C:
TOO LONG TO WAIT
Hepatitis C affects an estimated 215,000 people across the UK. If left untreated, it can cause life-threatening liver damage. But the high price of new, effective hepatitis C drugs called direct acting antivirals (DAAs) has been a barrier to access in the UK for years.
We’re a group of patients who were forced to wait months or even years to access the treatment we needed. Now we're demanding change.
We want to know why action wasn’t taken to force down the price of these new hep C drugs when they first came to the UK market. We are bringing patients’ stories to the fore and demanding answers to seek justice for those affected and prevent future drug rationing or lack of availability.
WHAT HAPPENED?
When drug company Gilead’s DAA drug sofosbuvir came to the UK in 2015 it was seen as a revolution in hep C treatment. But it came with a hefty price-tag. In the UK, only the very sickest patients were able to access the treatment they needed.
WHY WAS THE PRICE SO HIGH?
Gilead's extortionate prices were challenged across the world. Their prices restricted and prevented access in the UK and globally, yet bore no relation to the costs of researching and developing the drug.
What is just treatment doing?
We’re bringing together stories from people across the UK who have had to wait to access hepatitis C treatment. We are challenging the decisions that were made in the case of sofosbuvir to ensure that future high drug prices are effectively confronted.