Zydus in alliance with Gilead Sciences has launched an oral -therapy for Hepatitis C, SoviHep. The company has signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement which will allow the manufacture of sofosbuvir and the fixed-dose combination of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir for distribution in 91 countries including India.

The therapy will be marketed by the specialty division of the group, Zydus Heptiza.

Hepatitis C is the leading reason for liver transplantation, though the virus usually recurs after transplantation. For over a decade in India, the disease has been treated with PEG-IFN along with Ribavirin. However, the management of the disease has been a challenge with less than 1 percent of 10 million Hepatitis C patients having access to treatment. The launch of SoviHep is expected to improve the situation as it takes care of all current treatment needs of PAN-genotypic activity, with barrier to resistance, potent with convenience and compliance therapy.

SoviHep can also be used in combination with ribavirin (RibaHep) for treatment of chronic Hepatitis C patients with hepatocellular carcinoma awaiting liver transplantation for up to 48 weeks or until liver transplantation to prevent post-transplant HCV infection.

Speaking on the development, chairman and managing director of Zydus group, Mr Pankaj R Patel said, "Innovations in healthcare have made it possible to deliver better therapy outcomes and improve quality of lives. We are happy to partner with Gilead Sciences to make this breakthrough therapy accessible to patients of Hepatitis C in India. It bridges a longstanding unmet healthcare need. It also underlines our mission of providing access to new affordable therapies and we stand committed to this."