Ministry of Health, National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis celebrate Egypt's first and world's largest hepatitis C patient registry

"The hepatitis C patient registry marks a new era toward controlling the disease in Egypt. It centralizes records for patients receiving treatment via liver centers nationwide; to date it includes the records of over 32,000 patients," said Dr Wahid Doss, Dean of the National Liver Institute. "This project will transform hepatitis C treatment in Egypt by effectively managing resources to achieve the highest cure rates, closely monitoring patient progress and following up on the number of injections dispensed which strongly supports patient compliance."

"I would like to extend my deep appreciation for Hoffmann La Roche's support, not only on this project but for its ongoing support of all efforts towards tackling hepatitis C in Egypt. I would also like to thank the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology for its tremendous efforts that have truly enabled this project's success," he said.

Dr Wafaa Al Akel, Executive Manager of the HCV Patient Registry said, "The Network helps assess the actual extent of various issues associated with HCV infection. It shows the number of patients applying for treatment thereby helping deliver quality patient care, and the most common means of transmission so we can prevent infection at its root."

"Roche is immensely proud to be here today to celebrate the success of Egypt's first HCV patient registry," said Dr Ehab Youssef, General Manager, Hoffman La Roche Egypt. "We would like to express our gratitude to the Health Ministry and the National Committee for allowing us the privilege of supporting this vital project. Roche is extremely keen on demonstrating its commitment to the community; we will continue to provide hepatitis C treatment to Egypt's government institutions at the lowest price worldwide, support the establishment of treatment units and take part in awareness initiatives to curb HCV in Egypt."

The National Committee launched the National Project for hepatitis C treatment in 2006. To date, more than 240,000 patients have been treated at the state's expense via 23 nationwide liver centers. The Ministry of Health has so far spent LE2 billion to support the project and succeeded, in cooperation with manufacturing companies, in providing globally approved treatments at the lowest cost worldwide substantially alleviating the economic burden.