A Two-Year Outcome Evaluation of Government-Led Initiative to Upscale Hospital-based Hepatitis C Treatment Using a Standard Two-Drug Regimen in Malaysia

Background: Malaysia has been fully committed to the global endeavor to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by 2030. In early 2018, the Ministry of Health (MOH) embarked on a “one-size-fits-all strategy” by introducing generic versions of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir as the standard treatment for HCV infection in public hospitals nationwide. Objectives: To evaluate the outcomes of such an initiative in multiple aspects, including the number and characteristics of patients treated, the extent of evidence-based drug use, the treatment completion status, individual responses to treatment, common side effects of treatment, and its economic implications. Methods: The findings were generated from the data compiled by the MOH, capturing the information regarding the treatment provided to adult HCV-infected patients in 16 selected hospitals between April 2018 and March 2020, along with the drug costs incurred. Results: A total of 1,797 patients were treated, nearly four times more than the patients receiving interferon-based treatment across the country in the preceding two years. Approximately one-third of them had liver cirrhosis, and the main HCV genotypes were 3 (46.9%) and 1a (20.0%). Dosing, treatment duration and the addition of ribavirin to the treatment generally agreed with the recommendations of the MOH. More than 90% of the patients completed the treatment course, and a sustained virologic response (SVR) rate of 95.4% (95% CI: 94.2, 96.7%) was recorded in those with a known treatment outcome (n = 1,163). The SVR achievement did not vary across HCV genotypes and cirrhosis status, but those ≥ 50 years of age (adjusted OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.16, 3.92) were more likely to fail the treatment. Side effects were rare. Anemia and fatigue caused treatment discontinuation in only 0.3% of the patients. The total drug expenditure reached US$678,258.20, and the mean cost of a 12-week treatment course of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir (US$235.16) was lower than the cost expected by the MOH (US$300). Conclusions: The findings demonstrate a high degree of real-world effectiveness, safety, and affordability of the standard treatment, suggesting that such a government-led initiative was reasonable and timely and could be extended to include more public health institutions.