DNDi and our partners are supporting global elimination efforts by accelerating access to affordable treatments. Following development of ravidasvir, the first all-oral treatment for hepatitis C developed through South-South collaboration, we are now exploring ravidasvir’s advantages for specific sub-populations of patients living with HCV. We are also working with national governments, civil society organizations, and other partners to help enable access to affordable direct-acting antiviral treatments and foster the political will needed for wide-scale roll-out of test-and-treat strategies.
Our progress in 2024 includes:
Implementation
Ravidasvir + sofosbuvir: The results of a clinical trial showing sustained virological response in patients with genotype 3 chronic hepatitis C treated with ravidasvir and sofosbuvir for 12 or 24 weeks were presented at the 2024 European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress in Milan, Italy in June. An article on the population pharmacokinetics of ravidasvir in adults with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and the impact of antiretroviral treatment was published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in May. Drawing on lessons learned from the collaborative effort to develop ravidasvir, an article on alternative pharmaceutical innovation models in competitive markets was published in the Journal of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease in October.
Preliminary results from the EASE study testing shorter regimens (8 to 12 weeks) of ravidasvir and sofosbuvir, sponsored by the Malaysian Ministry of Health, were presented to the World Health Organization (WHO) in October, with final results presented at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference in early 2025.
In March, Mahidol University and Pharco Pharmaceuticals signed a collaboration and license agreement to facilitate the introduction of ravidasvir in Thailand.
In July, WHO pre-qualified the first self-test for hepatitis C virus, developed by FIND and the Malaysian Ministry of Health with support from the Hepatitis C PACT. This collaborative project built on the recommendations of the WHO in 2021, with the aim of simplifying and streamlining access to screening, diagnosis, and treatment for hepatitis C in vulnerable populations.
Photo credit: Abang Amirrul Hadi-DNDi
