Natco Pharma launches hepatitis C drug Velpanat in India

Velpanat is generic version of Epclusa, which contains sofosbuvir (400 mg) & velpatasvir (100 mg)

premium

BS B2B Bureau Hyderabad

Last Updated : May 09 2017 | 2:16 PM IST

Natco Pharma Limited has launched a hepatitis C drug – a fixed dose combination of sofosbuvir (400 mg) & velpatasvir (100 mg) – under the brand name of Velpanat in India. Velpanat is the generic version of Epclusa, manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc globally.

Epclusa is the first all-oral, pan-genotypic, single tablet regimen for the treatment of adults with genotype 1-6 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Epclusa is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with chronic (lasting a long time) hepatitis C (Hep C) genotype 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 infection with or without cirrhosis (compensated).

Natco has priced Velpanat at Rs 18,500 for a bottle of 28 tablets in India. Natco has signed a nonexclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences to manufacture and sell generic versions of its chronic hepatitis C medicines in 101 developing countries.