The American pharmaceutical company MSD (known in the U.S. as Merck) will stop supplying Russia with Zepatier, one of the most popular drugs to treat hepatitis C, after 2024, the newspaper Kommersant reported on Tuesday, citing Russia’s federal healthcare watchdog.
Zepatir is used to treat hepatitis C genotypes 1, 3, and 4 in adults. In 2022, the drug reportedly constituted 19 percent of treatment regimens paid for by the Russian government, and in the first half of 2023, it accounted for 18 percent.
There are no analogues to the drug in Russia, and MSD will hold the patent there until 2030, Meduza reports.
