“A new battle is looming over access to antiviral medicines in developing countries — this time for treating hepatitis C [HCV] — more than a decade after a global showdown over the price of AIDS drugs in Africa,” Reuters reports. “Modern pills being launched in western markets could cure the liver-destroying infection in tens of millions of people from China to Congo, or even eradicate the disease entirely. But that will only happen if the cost falls dramatically,” the news agency writes, adding, “Health care campaigners expect corporate schemes for poorer countries will focus on price discounts in middle- and low-income markets — but they argue this as a poor substitute for full generic competition, which could send prices tumbling” (Hirschler, 12/16).