genglob magazine

NATCO living up to its purpose of “Making speciality medicines accessible to all” has launched Sofosbuvir under the brand name of HEPCINAT. HEPCINAT (Sofosbuvir), a drug that has revolutionised the treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is made available at a very affordable price. NATCO is the first company in India to launch this product; this is truly a momentous occasion for the HCV care givers, patients and the company.

HCV infection is the leading cause of advanced liver disease worldwide. The virus successfully evades host immune detection and for many years has hampered efforts to find a safe, uncomplicated, and reliable oral antiviral therapy. Initially, Interferon and Ribavirin therapy was the treatment standard of care, but it offered limited performance across the wide spectrum of HCV disease and was fraught with excessive and often limiting side effects.

Sofosbuvir (SOF) is a potent first-in-class nucleotide inhibitor that acts directly on the viral replication enzyme and brings cure in as high as 90 to 100% of patients, which was never heard of in the treatment of HCV. The introduction of SOF, a safe and efficacious drug with the potential to cure HCV that affects 150-200 million people worldwide is indeed a rare event in the history of medicine. This is truly a momentous occasion for all those involved in the HCV care.

SOF is a well tolerated effective antiviral agent that is heralding a new era of all oral therapy for HCV. SOF is safe and can be used across different viral genotypes, disease stages, and special patient groups, such as those co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus. When used in combination with ribavirin or another direct-acting antiviral agent, SOF has revolutionized the HCV treatment spectrum and set the stage for nearly universal HCV antiviral therapy. More so than any other anti-HCV drug developed to date, SOF offers the widest applicability for all infected patients, and new regimens will be tailored to maximize performance. Sofosbuvir is truly an evolution and revolution in the treatment of HCV.

HEPCINAT (Sofosbuvir) is available throughout India and it is dispensed against the prescription of a Hepatologist/Gastroenterologist/HCV treatment specialist.