Indian Generic Harvoni Release Date

Well after all the worry and confusion the final release date for Gilead licensed Indian generic Harvoni is here! Thanks in large part to the early release of Twinvir in Bangladesh which appears to have put a bit of a bomb under the Indian authorities to speed up the process. So instead of us all wondering if the release of generic Harvoni was going to be blocked by Gilead or delayed until next year it has moved forward!

Isn’t life wonderful! Full of unexpected twists and turns.

The Release Date

I have been informed that the release date will be next week. Sometime after Saturday the 7th of November and before Saturday the 14th of November.

The price on the street in India for licensed generic Harvoni (sofosbuvir + Ledipasvir) is expected to be about 25,000 rupees for a jar of 28 tablets. In real terms this means the correct price for a 12 week treatment of generic Harvoni including shipment paperwork etc will be about, or not more than, US$1,650 (Australian dollars $2,300)

Actually this is a cheaper price than many were expecting.

Great news for folk with Hep C genotype1.

As always I am happy to assist people purchase from reliable suppliers of genuine licensed generic harvoni. As mentioned previously I do not charge for this. I can provide you reliable and honest contacts in India if you wish to travel there yourself or I can connect you with an honest and very efficient supplier of mail order Hep C meds. Just email me for more information

8th November

I should explain further the process of Gilead licensed generic Indian Harvoni.

For the last 5 or 6 months the general expectation was that generic Harvoni would be released in mid December 2015.

The thing that people were waiting for was for the Indian regulatory authority to give approval for this combo of Sofosbuvir and Ledipasvir to be sold in India. Gilead had already licensed four Indian pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and sell generic versions of its Harvoni.

Then there was chatter that the Indian government was going to require further testing of the Sofosbuvir + Ledipasvir combo before approval was given. Most commentators saw this proposed delay as originating from Gilead putting pressure on the Indian authorities to delay the release so it could prevent cheaper Harvoni becoming accessible to people in “First World” countries as was occurring with Sovaldi.

Then two Bangladeshi companies, Incepta and Beacon, began making unlicensed generic Harvoni using APIs imported from China. News of Twinvir swept the Hep C world and the first batch of Twinvir sold out in a couple of weeks. There was a delay of almost a month before the second, larger, lot came on the market and it too sold out quickly.

In the meantime India and Gilead must have seen that if they continued to delay then the Bangladesh generic Harvoni, Twinvir, would soon dominate the international market and Indian generics, for which Gilead receives a substantial royalty, would be playing serious catch up.

The result of this was that instead if delaying the release of Indian Harvoni it was actually in Gilead’s interests to speed the release date up. And that is exactly what happened. So approval has now been given to the four brands of Indian generic Harvoni and sales will begin this week.

As previously mentioned the correct price delivered should be not be more than US$1,700. Already I have heard of prices up to and above US$4,000 … more than double the correct price.

The price if you purchase generic Harvoni on the street in India, the MRP, (manufacturer’s recommended retail price) is 75,000 rupees for a 12 week treatment. Obviously if it is being shipped then there will be many extra charges for paperwork, freight etc.

Meanwhile the burning, aching frustration of people with Hep C continues in the UK, the USA and other countries where the medical profession is more interested in their income than their patient’s health.

Dear Greg.

My Daughter of 24 has had Hep C genotype 1 for the last 5 years, a mum of two toddlers, and the usual story at every appointment with her clinic she is told that treatment is not available to her. We were praying she would be able to get Harvoni but were told that only ” the really very ill are getting it “. We live in #### and i could get the money together for the generic Harvoni for her but is it still not allowed to be couriered into our country?

Is there another way i could get it sent here? I don’t think i could travel to India with our finances. I am so totally heartbroken for my daughter, our last appointment in clinic was Tuesday gone and they were completely unhelpful! I can’t let my daughter go on any longer with the disappointment and the death sentence she faces by waiting for treatment through the clinic in the hospital. She can hardly function anymore with the terrible fatigue she has and even though the clinic says she has years before her liver becomes cirrhotic it just does not seem logical to let a condition become that bad before its treated. And worse than that is living every day knowing there is something out there that can cure you but you can’t have it, that is why as her mum i must do this and go as far as i can go and help cure her, sorry for rambling on Greg, i just need to get her the Harvoni so my grandchildren will have a healthy mum when they are teenagers and a long time after that. What are my options Greg?

Thankyou so much.

#######

I get this type of letter every day of the week. Not just one or two but dozens every day. Some like the one above are from parents who are watching their children slowly die. Others are from children who are watching their mother or father die. Yet others are from the spouse of a Hep C sufferer and others are from the sufferers themselves.

All face this terrible knowledge that health and life, is being destroyed by a disease that is easily and cheaply cured.

The lucky folk live in countries like Australia where it is easy to import the new generic Hep C meds and where the doctors are supportive.

Others live in countries like the USA, Canada and Ireland where the government blocks access to these meds and condemns their citizens to illness and death.

The worst is the UK where the medical profession and the NHS are so controlled by the agents of Big Pharma that they refuse to treat, supervise the treatment of or even write prescriptions for people choosing to cure themselves with generic Hep C meds. This despite the fact that it is totally legal for people to import these generic meds to treat themselves.

It was a sad day when doctors started putting their incomes ahead of the health of their patients.

But whilst doctors and governments are obstructing peoples access to health people are still finding a way and getting cured from Hepatitis C. Along with all those sad emails I also get a lot of happy, uplifting emails from people who have begun their Hep C treatment with Indian generic drug and who are getting the results, as expressed in this short but sweet email.

Hi Greg .. u have another success story .. I am still in shock .. I am hep c free .. unbelievable! So much more to say .. so much more to hep c than people think!!!

9th November 2015

Yesterday I had a pleasant meeting with Dr James Freeman the founder of FixHepC. It was a perfect Tasmanian Spring day with clear blue skies and a gentle breeze blowing across the water of the Dentrecasteux Channel.

We met at the Peppermint Bay hotel the local pub in my little village. The pub overlooks Peppermint Bay, a beautiful tree fringed bay. It is called Peppermint Bay after the trees that line its shores. These are Peppermint Gums, a variety eucalyptus tree which has an oil that smells like peppermint if you crush the leaves in your hand.

Because it was such a lovely day the pub was pretty crowded, with no spare seats so we took our drinks out onto the expansive lawn and stretched out there to discuss developments in access to affordable Hep C treatment around the world.

Dr James Freeman is an interesting and highly intelligent man who has an inspiring vision for a Hep C free world. He set up FixHepC with that vision in mind and, with its associated “Buyers Club” FixHepC is having a real impact on the provision of affordable generic Hep C medicines and treatment.

A lot of people ask about the connection between myself and Dr Freeman, the fact that we both live in Hobart in Tasmania, about as far away from anywhere as one can live, yet in our different ways we are having quite an impact on Hep C treatment around the world.

A strange coincidence?

Well yes and no. I guess the strange coincidence is that two people who were both interested in Hep C treatment (for very different reasons) and both prepared and able to push the boundaries of the “status quo” lived within a half hour drive of each other. However the reality is that it was reading an article in our local newspaper that alerted me to the release of generic Sofosbuvir in India… this article featured Dr Freeman, who at that stage was just beginning to investigate the Chinese APIs from Mesochem.

So Dr Freeman followed the Chinese API path and I went to India and followed the Indian path.

And so it is now. I work with the people I met in India to help folk access affordable treatment for Hepatitis C using Indian generics and Dr Freeman has used the contacts he developed in China to create a structure that has assisted people access affordable Hep C meds.

So in a strange way we work in parallel. We share information and news and help each other when we can but we are different people with a different approach but with the same goal, to help people access affordable treatment and to help them get their health back.

Below is an email that demonstrates this idea… that both of us have the goal of seeing people cured.

Hi Greg

A while back you helped us get in touch with Dr James Freeman with regard to securing medication for ####’s Hep C. I said that I would update you on progress.

The specific medication that #### needed due to his Genotype and being unresponsive to other treatments, was Harvoni. Through the FixHepC Buyers Club we were able to secure the first generic (tested) medication from Bangladesh. (Twinvir). We were very excited and relieved when the parcel for #### actually arrived! (23/10/15) We felt there was a chance they might never have made it. They had been opened and inspected by N.Z. Customs and promptly sent on (accompanied by ####’s Specialist’s Prescription).

On the first day #### started his Twinvir, he kept saying he “felt strange” but couldn’t really pin the feeling down and was very lethargic but only for about an hour. Each day from there he has progressed. At day three or four he was saying he “felt ALIVE”. 2 weeks into treatment now, and his energy levels have climbed dramatically. He looks better than he has in months! He had his 2 week blood tests yesterday and the Specialist phoned to tell him that all the blood viral counts and indicators had come back substantially reduced! Its all looking very good and we are delighted.

Thanks for your help too Greg.

Kind regards

######

10th November 2015

A Slight Delay.

I received news from India that the committee meeting to give approval for the release of generic Harvoni ended without final approval being granted.

Because the week beginning on the 8th of November and ending the 14th has three significant religious festival days in it I have have been told that it is unlikely that that committee will reconvene before the 15th of November when, it is expected, approval will be granted.

Once approval is actually granted it will be a few days before shipments can begin as the inevitable piles of paperwork must first be completed by the different companies.

So its just a small delay, annoying to be sure, but it is just a small delay and that is life.

12th November 2015

Earlier this week I went and had a sample of blood removed from my arm for my 12 week post treatment viral load test.

Here I have to confess to mild anxiety… perhaps best described as a niggling worry:

“What if the virus is detected?”

Despite the fact that I am feeling fantastic and I have no symptoms of a relapse it is still human nature to fear the negative outcome. So I am just slightly anxious about my appointment at the Liver Clinic tomorrow morning. Thank God it is at 9 a.m. so I will wake up have breakfast and drive straight into town and get the result.

It will be interesting because this will be my first meeting with the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Hep nurse for about 6 months as she has been on long service leave since just after I returned from India.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.

Since we last met in June I have helped more than 3,000 people access affordable Hepatitis C treatment, about half of those in Australia.

Since June Dr Freeman’s FixHepC Buyers Club has got up and running and has also helped at least that many people with Hep C access affordable treatment.

Since June a number of other liver clinics and specialists have begun to actively support patients treating their Hep C with generic medicines.

Since June there has been a lot of media coverage about the issues of access to affordable medicines and the obscenity of the pricing of these medicines by their manufacturers.

Since hundreds upon hundreds of people have been reporting fantastic results from treatment with these generic medicines. Undetectable viral loads at 2 and 4 weeks after beginning treatment. Liver function result back into normal ranges for the first time in many years. So many positive results and reports.

On the negative side a whole lot of insecure, (dare I say pompous) liver Specialists running some of Australia’s liver clinics have tried to talk people out of using generics to treat their disease even though they offer no alternative except the torture and danger of ineffective Interferon treatment. These doctors are either in the pocket of Big Pharma or they are so narrow minded and ill informed that they have no interest in providing the best treatment options for their patients.

So I will be interested to hear her perspective, as an insider, on all this.

14th November 2015

SVR 12

So it was the big day yesterday, the results of my viral load tests 12 weeks after treatment ended.

As I mentioned I was slightly anxious and as the half hour drive into the clinic for my 9 o’clock appointment became a 50 minute drive when a traffic jam snarled the highway I began to worry that I would miss my appointment.

But the traffic unsnarled and I made it to the parking station beside the Royal Hobart Hospital and from there took the elevator to the 10th floor where the Hep Clinic is located.

The Hep nurse was back from her 10 weeks of long service leave and looking much refreshed from her tour with her husband through northern Australia.

We sat down at the desk in her office, her smile said it all.

“Congratulations, no virus detected,” she said, “But you expected that didn’t you?”

I had expected it but I explained about the niggling doubt, the slight anxiety, which had just disappeared.

So we laughed and chatted as a feeling of relief and triumph flowed through me. It had all been worth it, more than worth it, because I could now see into the future the thousands and thousands, maybe millions, of people who would also be getting this same news after fighting so long to stay on top of this terrible disease.

Cured.

Cured thanks to the generic drugs coming out of India, Bangladesh, China and now also Australia.

Flying to Australia

This brings me to the next topic, flying to Australia for generic Hepatitis medicines.

Australia is now unique in the ‘developed’ world because there are three compound chemists now compounding Chinese Hep C APIs into consumable doses. The catch with this is that these pharmacies can only supply the medication to people who have an Australian prescription. The patient does not have to be an Australian citizen or resident but they must have an Australian doctor’s prescription.

As a result of this a lot of people from countries where their government obstructs access to generic meds being sent by courier, like Canada and the USA, are now flying to Australia to get see an Australian doctor and then buy their Hep C meds and fly home with them, a totally legal thing to do.

The process is quite simple.

I can supply you with a list of doctors who will prescribe Hep C meds for you and you can make an appointment with one of these doctors, fly to Australia with your most recent test results, see the doctor, get the prescription buy the meds begin treatment (swallow a tablet) and fly home where your own doctor can monitor your treatment.

Ideally you should also bring a letter from your doctor explaining your situation. Even a prescription if you can get one. This makes it all the easier for the Australian doctor.

If you are short of time this process should take less than one week. If you have spare time then stay a couple of weeks and enjoy the natural beauty of Australia.

If you are really pressed for time then you can speed this process up to a 3 night stay by doing it this way:

1. Make an online appointment with GP2U, an Australian online medical consultancy.

2. Meet the doctor online, with reports etc and explain the situation.

3. Get the prescription sent to you by email. (total cost AUD$100)

4. Send an email explaining your situation and attach a scan of the prescription to Sydney Compounding Chemist order@compoundingchemist.com

5. Pay for the meds before you leave your country so they are made up and waiting for you when you arrive.

6. Fly to Australia.

7. Get the meds delivered to where you are staying.

8. Start treatment

9. Fly home.

If you need any more information of this option then just email me at gregjefferys@outlook.com

SVR 12 is within easy reach. Get yourself healthy and well… LIVE LIFE

19th November 2015

I woke up this morning and switched on the computer… 83 emails had dropped into my inbox whilst I was asleep. A lot of the emails contained requests for assistance and a number contained the lovely success stories I receive ever day now. This next one is using Mesochem APIs and is just 16 days into treatment. The improvements happen that fast!

Greg, just want to update you on the test results of Sof/Dac from Mesochem in case you can use it for educating/assisting anyone interested in treatment.

GT3b: AST down from 74 to 23 – normal, ALT down from 140 to 21 – normal, and VL down from 5.6 L.IU/mL to 2.2 L.IU/mL. Not quite undetected but getting very close and quite a massive drop, and after only 16 days. All other tests were in the normal ranges, as well. The doctor even asked me for info about your site and fixhepc so I will pass on the web links the next time I see him. Thanks again for the assistance!!

And while the delays on the release of Indian generic Harvoni continue of course more people are now flying to Australia and to Bangladesh to get their meds. Here are two sucess travel stories.

Australia

Dear Dr. Freeman and Greg:

I just wanted to let you both know that I successfully picked up my daclatasvir and sofosbuvir from the compounding chemist in Sydney and yesterday made it back into USA with no problem. I didn’t tell customs I had medicine with me and nobody asked, it was pretty uneventful, but in case it came up I had lots of documentation, my US prescription and Australian prescription. testing documentation and excerpts from the US FDA “Orange Book” that I understand US customs sometimes consults to see if generic medicines are ok to bring in.

Wanted to also say THANK YOU to you both for putting me on the path to getting cured. I had a final round of appeals to my insurance company going on simultaneously when I left for Australia, and just before I returned, I got word that they had approved me for treatment with sofosbuvir and ribavarin, which I had made clear to everyone during that appeal process I did not see myself in a position at 65 and already fatigued, with asthma and diverticulitis to be trying out ribavarin–so I have no regrets about going to Australia and getting the proper medication, plus I ran around Australia for a week and saw a part of the world I would have never seen.

I’ll let you know my results as I progress, I am in my 8th day now of medication and have no side effects that I notice other than my eyes popping open when i wake up and finding myself suddenly 100% AWAKE, instead of the usual groggy half asleep daze I would be in for an hour after waking. So to me, the new wide awake feeling when I wake up is not really a bad thing, I do feel good, don’t know if that’s just a placebo effect, or what, but I seem to notice that I do not have the bloated feeling and vague abdominal pain I used to occasionally experience.

Thank you again for all you’ve done for me and others and are doing. I will probably post something on the fixhepc board too, so US citizens know they can just go and carry their medication through as an option.

Bangladesh

Hi Greg

As an alternative for those from overseas, Incepta Pharma has been very helpful. Their manager for marketing is Asif Mostafa +88 017 1333 8492, and assistant Alimul Razi +88 017 1338 0056.

The price I paid last week for Twinvir was 862 Taka per tablet (with the airport exchange rate at USD 1 = 78.5 Taka) it cost me slightly less than $11 USD. 5- I purchased my 24 weeks worth of generic harvoni within 2 hours of landing at the airport in Dhaka. I spent the night there, and was back home (Southeast Asia) the next day – 2-days round trip. Warm regards, ######

20th November 2015

The Issue of doctors who will not prescribe, hospitals that will not monitor treatments and specialists who get angry when patients ask them about Indian generic Hep C medicines is one that continually irritates me because I hear this everyday.

On one hand every day I hear from people getting well after being sick for decades using Indian generic treatments and on the other hand I hear of doctors and specialists warning patients against using India generic Hep C treatment… even threatening to remove them from liver transplant waiting lists if they do use them. These same doctors have happily treated patients with Interferon for years yet Interferon is a deadly poison causing terrible side effects and having, at best, a 60% cure rate.

One such hospital is the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Queensland.

Brisbane is the only capital city in Australia where there is not one single doctor who will prescribe Indian generic Hep C meds for their long suffering patients.

Every other capital city has dozens of doctors who will prescribe these meds but not Brisbane. Why?

I believe that Brisbane’s ” Liver Specialist Hierarchy” is dominated by a bunch of ego maniacs who feel threatened by the fact that patients who they have failed to heal are going and healing themselves outside of the “system”. Getting results where the “specialists” could not.

These people are control freaks, bloated on their own self importance and they can not cope with the idea that people are taking control of their health, of their own lives and getting results!

Here is a classic example in an email I received yesterday.

Thanks Greg for getting back to me.

I’ve worked in the nsw & qld health systems in various positions over a 40 yr span and retired recently.

As you could imagine, it was hard keeping the fact that I had Hep C to myself.

I was attending a private hospital liver clinic since I was diagnosed in 19##.

With my medical back ground, I was able to access Interferon treatment in 20## with my private gastro doctor. But I didn’t clear the virus.

After reading your early blogs, I decided to do some of my own research & ordered the generic Sofosbuvir , Ledisbovir with Ribavirin .

While waiting for my order, I then started looking into who could monitor my treatment in Brisbane.

I talked with the gastro doctors at PA & yes there are some doctors that are the drug company puppets & don’t want to rock the boat or their freebies.

BUT there are some of the other doctors at PA Hepatology clinic that take the view of “Duty Of Care” & don’t have a problem in monitoring patients that have chosen the generic way but they will need to sign a waiver .

They’re worried about having too many generics on their books when the HARVONI is released in Australia & they will prioritise those patients over the generics.

So yes it’s very hush hush and only the ones that are already on their books have any chance of being monitored.

It’s so sad that these doctors & hospitals are tied into the drug companies so much.

These drug companies donate so many things to keep them onside.

I wish I could tell you more but let’s just say that it’s not impossible to be monitored at PA Hospital but very hard to become one of the selected few.

I would hope that you can respect my confidentiality & not publicise my name.

with kind regards

######

22nd November

Bangladesh Again

Quite a few people, particularly from Italy and other places in Europe are flying to Bangladesh to pick up a supply of Twinvir to treat their Hep C.

As you would know Twinvir is a generic version of Harvoni made in Bangladesh by the company Incepta.

Because of the ongoing delays in India with the release of Indian generic Harvoni a lot of people are going to Bangladesh.

All the feedback I have had from people is thus far positive. The people at Incepta are helpful and the entire process can be completed in a couple of days.

Here is an example of the emails I am getting. I hope it may be of use to some of you thinking about this trip.

Dear Greg,

First, congratulations on getting to SVR12 – it must feel fantastic to know that you are now almost certainly clear of the virus for good. I very much hope that one day I will also get there.

In any case I thought I would drop you a line to tell you that I don’t now need the generic harvoni from India. Because of the continued uncertainty as to when the Indian generic harvoni will be released I decided instead to go to Bangladesh to buy the Twinvir from Incepta, which I did last week. It was a flying visit. I stayed in Dhaka overnight but I was only away from the UK for 3 days. I have already started taking the tablets and as you can imagine I am very excited to have finally started treatment.

I am reconciled to the fact that in all probability I will get no help from the NHS in terms of monitoring and that I will have to pay for this myself privately. I think you are right in saying, as regrettable as this fact is, that at least part of the apparently widespread opposition by parts of the “medical establishment” to patient use of generic treatments is attributable to resentment of patients taking control of their own treatment outside of the “system” and the threat this poses to doctors’ and managers’ control of that system.

Thank you again for all your help, information and support. I may have said this to you before – but it will bear repetition – you and Dr Freeman represent a beacon of light in what would otherwise be a fairly dark world of treatment options for hepatitis c sufferers.

Best wishes,

########

23rd November

I had a very pleasant weekend staying with friends up beside one of Tasmania’s highland lakes. Spent two days boating, fishing and walking around. Took my Samsung Notepad along so that the emails did not get too out of hand but generally did not interface with the screen too much.

Whilst I do get a lot of emails I would like you to understand that I am happy to answer them and help where I can. I have decided that this is what I will do while it needs doing. If I can help then I will.

Recently I hired a friend who has a background in office work to help me with the paperwork side of things so that I can devote all my time just to responding to emails. This is working out very well and has taken a lot of weight off my shoulders because I am not good at the paperwork side of things.

24th November

Generic Harvoni From India

Whilst the delay in the release of generic Indian Harvoni continues to frustrate everyone the crazy (but typically Indian) situation exists where Hepcinat-LP, made in India is approved for sale, and is selling, in Nepal.

Because if this weird situation my friends in India hunted around and have found a Nepalese Medicines broker who has agreed to deliver Gilead licensed Hepcinat LP (generic Harvoni) from Nepal to Delhi from where it can be shipped. This process is legal but it adds to the costs and make the end product more expensive than we would like.

The cost works out to AUD $2600 (US$1,875) for 03 months course of therapy (84 tablets) including documentation and DHL freight. My friends in India will be able to ship these meds because they are manufactured in India.

I know it is stupid but these meds have been released in Nepal but not in India so even though they are made in India they can only be purchased in Nepal then have to be shipped back to India!!!!

I thought to share this with you to make you aware that it is now possible for me to arrange to send you generic Harvoni.

I do wish to stress that I do not make a penny from this but make it available to you if you do not wish to wait for the release of generic Harvoni in India.

And I finish with another lovely positive email received last night:

Hi Greg,

A quick update on my treatment so far. ALT and AST were around 350- 400. After just two weeks they are both nearly back in normal range. Viral load went from 1,000,000 IU/ml to under 50 IU/ml at 2 weeks. Great response so far! I am approaching week 4 now and re testing this week.

I am feeling so much better, it is quite unbelievable. I didn’t realize how bad I was really feeling! I have had no side effects that I can say of from the Sof and Dac. Life has continued as always.

I am so happy I decided to contact you. Thank you so much. Thanks to India and generic drugs. I am hoping for a cure and feel so positive with the results I have had so far, time will tell as to how I go.

Kind Regards

######

25th November

Bad news from Nepal

I received this email from my friend in India this morning. He was setting about organising the first shipments of Hepcinat-LP.

Dear Greg,

Leave this task of the Nepalese Hepcinat aside for now. I will only deal with SOF from India. I called the broker to deliver the Hepcinat-LP so we could begin sending it out. I thought we could start by helping patients immediately this way. The broker is now asking for double the price he originally quoted. He is completely ridiculous. I apologise for the inconvenience caused.

If anyone needs SOF please let me know and I will be glad to assist.

Thanks & regards,

#########

I am very sorry about having raised everyone’s hopes! It makes me look stupid and the whole Indian generic Harvoni thing is becoming a dog’s breakfast.

What has happened?

Greed raises its ugly head again. Suddenly this broker realises that he can make double the profits because of the demand and with no concern for people he doubles his prices.

This greed thing really gets under my skin. Are humans so selfish and greedy that they can not be happy with a fair profit. Have we become so materialistic that we do not care about anything but money?

I recall two of the most important medicines invented in the 20th century. Penicillin and the Polio vaccine. The inventors of these two drugs did not even seek a patent on them and simply gave them to humanity to ease the suffering of fellow humans.

The inventor of Sofosbuvir took a patent and then sold it for billions of dollars to a company, Gilead, that specialises in making obscene profits from human suffering. Who is worse the inventor or the company?

So we wait for the release of the Indian generic Harvoni and pray that it is soon.

27th November 2015

The Generic Harvoni Situation: An Overview

Bangladesh

The availability of generic Harvoni has been a confusing affair since about August 2015 when Incepta in Bangladesh began producing Twinvir.

At first there were concerns about quality however testing and actual treatment results consistently showed that Twinvir was, and is, a genuine Harvoni equivalent.

Twinvir is available in Bangladesh and I can give you reliable contacts who will ship to you. However I would suggest that going to Bangladesh and buying direct from Incepta is a good option and I can give you all the Incepta contact details.

Another option is to fly to Thailand where I can give you a contact who can get Twinvir for you. The cost in Bangladesh for a 12 week treatment is about US$1,100

India

Generic Indian Harvoni has been on the horizon for some time. It was known that Gilead had licensed at least four major Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers to make and distribute generic versions of Harvoni.

This has already been done and since October 2015 there have been warehouses full of generic Harvoni waiting to be sold however the Indian bureaucracy has been slow granting approval for the sale of Generic Harvoni in India.

In the mean time one Indian company, Natco, managed to get permission from the government in Nepal to begin selling its generic Harvoni, Hepcinat-LP, in Nepal.

So you can get licensed generic Harvoni in Nepal. Unfortunately I do not have any contacts in Nepal.

A release date of mid December has been given for Indian Harvoni.

The expected cost of generic Indian Harvoni, on the street in India, is about US$1,350

Australia

There are three compound chemists making a Harvoni equivalent in Australia of Sofosbuvir and Ledipasvir. One of these has all their output consumed by the demands of the FixHepC Buyers’ Club.

The other two chemists are in Sydney and they make their Harvoni equivalent from Sofosbuvir and Ledipasvir supplied by an Australian Government approved pharmaceutical supplier. Every batch of Sof and Led are analysed and tested by an independent certification process. So the quality is 100%.

It is a requirement of Australian law that Sofosbuvir and Ledipasvir can only be supplied to a patient with a prescription from an Australian registered doctor. However you do not need to be an Australian resident or even be in Australia as you can get an online consultation with an Australian doctor and then get the prescription. Once you have the prescription you can deal directly with the chemist and order the Sofosbuvir 400mg and Ledipasvir 90mg. These come in capsules and lactose free fillers are used.

This process has been in operation for almost 2 months now and the results are now flowing through.

So to get the Australian generic Harvoni equivalent you can come to Australia and pick it up or you can organise it all online.

Total cost for a 12 week treatment is AUD$2,350

28th November 2015

Well the great success stories keep rolling in as people move through the different stages treatment. I guess I get at least 10 every day of the week now. Here is a nice one a parent and child who both had Hep C:

Hi Greg

Well finally some definite results to send through to you.

But firstly let me congratulate you on reaching your 12 week mark, the relief must be unbelievable. I am so happy for you and your family. They must feel so proud of you and the impact that you are having on so many lives.

Really not much out of the ordinary to report with myself. ###### seems to have gained a lot of energy, although we don’t talk about the treatment very much. #### bounces out of bed, goes to the gym, heads off to work full time, has taken on personal training sessions and also is managing uni studies and also working at a second job. This was a young person that could barely hold down a part time position without falling into a coma at the end of the day. So as you can imagine I am feeling over the moon, watching my child keeping up with friends again in all areas of life. I think #### is looking forward to the end of treatment to be able to have an alcoholic beverage with friends again. Ohhhh to be that age again……..

I have no real side effects to report apart from being a bit of a rollercoaster emotionally, but this could just be the burden of everyday pressure and the worry of treatment success. Any side affects have been so minimal and its hard to tell if I have just been jumping at shadows. Treatment has had no adverse effect on my day to day life.

Doctor #### has been absolutely amazing in his help to the two of us, he wants to stay anonymous as our treating specialist, I am positive that you understand this.; Even though you know who he, is I will remove his name from the path reports.

I have attached our pathology history for your records. Just to jog your memory ###### started treatment on the 2nd of October and I started on the 5th of October and we both came back with “No Virus Detected” in about 3 weeks. How exciting and amazing is that??????????

Kindest regards and with every wish for happiness and health

Chat soon when we have more results for you

########

Indian Generic Harvoni news (again) and Daclatasvir.

Talking about roller coasters the big news of the day is that this morning I received official news that the Indian medicines approval committee met on Thursday and finally has given definite and official approval for the sale of generic Indian Harvoni.

I was very reluctant to publish this but I have been sent a copy of the committee’s minutes from that meeting and there is no doubt that approval has been granted.

I have been told that it will take about 2 weeks for the necessary paperwork and so forth to be done and then we are back at the orginal release date of the 15th of December when sales and shipping can begin.

It appears that all the companies licensed by Gilead to make and sell Sofosbuvir have been licensed to do the same with Harvoni. This means there will be eight brands of generic Harvoni on the market in India by the end of 2015.

These will include products by Hetero, Cipla, Natco and Mylan.

Daclatasvir

The big surprise to come out of this same committee meeting was that generic Daclatasvir was also given the go ahead.

I am not certain if Indian pharmaceutical companies have been stock piling Daclatasvir like they have been with Harvoni so I do not know if it be released at the same time as the generic Harvoni or not.

The thing with Daclatasvir is that it is a very simple molecule to create and easy to manufacture so it will not take the manufacturers much time to ‘ tool up’ and start production.

This means that all the new range of Sofosbuvir based Hep C drug combinations will be available at an affordable price from India suppliers.

Great news!

Amazon locks my ‘e’ book

As readers of my blog will remember a couple of month back Western Union block my account so that I could not transfer funds to India for the purchase of Hep C medicines. This is still the case and despite numerous and extensive phone calls and emails Western Union still refuses to allow people to send me money and refuses to allow me to send money!

Now Amazon appears to have blocked the sale of the ‘e’ book version of my block to US residents!

Yes I just received an email from a person in the USA who tried to my 99 cent ‘e’ book and he received the message:

” Sales of this book are blocked to residents of the USA.”

I am sorry but isn’t the USA supposed to be the land of Free Speech?

No it is the land run by the big drug companies whose government lets its citizens die if they are not rich enough to afford to buy medicine.

It is the land that supresses and blocks nformation that will help its citizens get cured of terrible diseases.

I guess the C.E.O.s of Western Union, Gilead and Amazon must all play golf together on Sundays?

Hello Greg

Thank you so very much for your reply and some information. I did try to buy your e-book on Amazon, but it is “blocked for US residents”. Not sure why…you might want to ask Amazon.

I am an older guy, 61 years of age, and I am making a modest living, so I will need to plan this trip to India out and save more funds to do it.

I was planning a trip to the Philippines in 2016. I may try to come to India for some of the 2 months of my travels while in the Phiippines. I might return to the US with my final 30 day supply.

29th November 2015