Eastern European and Central Asian Community Advisory Board (EECA CAB) published an open letter to Bristol Myers Squibb as a respond respond to the access policy related to hepatitis C drugs, recently published on the website of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS).
While acknowledging the importance of including such countries as Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, EECA CAB expressed deep regret and concern about the fact that 7 middle-income countries of our region with approximately 2 million people living with HCV2 — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Ukraine — were left out of the license coverage.
In its open letter EECA CAB urged BMS:
- To provide a plan for ensuring access to the company’s hepatitis C drugs in the countries of EECA, including registration, licensing, and pricing plans;
- Take measures to ensure prompt registration of the company’s drugs in EECA;
- Inform the members of EECA CAB on the status of the negotiations between the company and the national governments regarding plans for providing access to hepatitis C drugs;
- After registering the drugs in EECA, initiate negotiations with the governments regarding the prices for antiviral drugs to ensure universal access to hepatitis C drug in the region.
