Lawsuits in India and Argentina to reduce Hepatitis C drug costs by allowing generic versions

Nature: The liver disease hepatitis C is the new battleground for lawsuits intended to slash the cost of life-saving medicines. In February alone, five suits were filed in India and Argentina claiming that the latest class of antiviral drugs does not warrant the 20-year patent monopoly that manufacturers have sought in those countries. In the 2000s, successful challenges to patents on HIV drugs gave poor nations access to high-quality ‘generic’ copies of the medications at rock-bottom prices. Now, buoyed by that success, activists are applying the same strategy to a fresh wave of hepatitis C drugs. They note that the standard 12-week course of treatment costs more than the average annual salary for millions of people in middle-income countries.

Hepatitis C common among HIV-positive patients in sub-Saharan Africa

London: A new study has found high levels of infection with hepatitis C (HCV) across Africa, particularly in people infected with HIV. In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers from Imperial College London and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) collated data on over 1.1 million individuals from 213 studies to provide policymakers with robust estimates of the burden of HCV infection.

The report, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, found that around three per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa have been infected with HCV infection, rising to 5.7 per cent in individuals with HIV. The findings will inform the global debate about how treatment should be made available to all those who need it.

Unintentional overdosing of vitamin A

Newcastle University  Dr Georg Lietz has been awarded $2.1M by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to assess the safety of vitamin A programs targeted at children in developing countries. Approximately one-third of children in low-income countries are deficient in vitamin A, and an estimated 157,000 children worldwide die each year because of vitamin A deficiency.

Healthcare at the touch of a finger

Cambridge: A new fingerprint ID device gives healthworkers access to accurate patient records.