Devex: 8 things to know ahead of the World Hepatitis Summit
“The second World Hepatitis Summit opens November 1 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, to take stock of countries’ progress in developing national plans for hepatitis elimination. The number of countries with such plans has increased fivefold over the past half decade, from 17 to 82 to date. About one-third of these countries have started to allocate resources toward their agendas. Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, director of the HIV/AIDS Department and the Global Hepatitis Program at the World Health Organization, sees that as encouraging progress, though more remains to be done. … Devex spoke with Hirnschall and Marc Bulterys, team leader of the Global Hepatitis Program at the WHO in Geneva, about the gaps, outstanding challenges, and ongoing work toward elimination…” (Ravelo, 11/1).

Reuters: MSF charity secures generic hepatitis C drugs for $1.40 a day
“Médecins Sans Frontières, the international nonprofit medical charity, said on Tuesday it had struck deals with generic manufacturers to buy hepatitis C drugs for as little as $1.40 a day, a dramatic reduction on original prices. … MSF said the deals with generic companies meant it was now able to provide a 12-week course of treatment for around $120, against $1,400 to $1,800 available through Gilead and [Bristol-Myers Squibb] access programs for poorer nations…” (Hirschler, 10/31).

U.N. News Centre: Ahead of Brazil Summit, U.N. reports three million people now have access to hepatitis C cure
“A record three million people obtained treatment for hepatitis C over the past two years, and 2.8 million more people embarked on lifelong treatment for hepatitis B in 2016, the United Nations health agency reported Tuesday, the eve of the World Hepatitis Summit in Brazil, highlighting increasing momentum in the global response to the viral disease…” (10/31).