A recent survey in mainland China has revealed that a majority of the patients suffering from hepatitis C in the country do not use the standard treatment because of side effects and its expensive costs. 

Wu Jieping Medical Foundation partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb, a global biopharmaceutical company, to conduct the two-month survey. They asked 600 hepatitis C patients from 14 provinces. 

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The study further highlighted the patients' access to direct-acting antivirals (DAA), a type of drug that can cure at least 95 percent of hepatitis C cases.

"Accelerating the process of approval for DAAs in China is currently the central issue for the prevention and control of the disease," said Zhuang Hui, a member of Peking University's Chinese Academy of Engineering. 

Many patients also opt to go overseas for DAA-based treatment or buy DAAs online, Zhuang said, and with good reason.

China Daily reported that China's slow drug approval system is the reason, not to mention the current standard treatment has many side effects that are unsuitable for 50 percent of the patients. 

The standard treatment today for hepatitis C are Ribavirin and Interferon. These antiretroviral drugs keep the infection level at a minimum, but surveys showed that 80 percent of patients experience side effects and only 50 percent can take them.  

"The success rate for the P/R regimen is between 44 and 70 percent, but the treatment is fraught with serious side effects and often takes a long time," said Duan Zhongping, president of the Chinese Society of Hepatology. 

Furthermore, Wu Jieping's study showed that 97 percent of the patients wanted a better treatment option. 

But there is one, Sofosbuvir, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2013. The oral drug can also cure 95 percent of the patients and has fewer side effects, but a 12-week treatment cost half a million yuan. 

The number of hepatitis C patients in China is estimated to be up to 13 to 14 million, one of the highest in the world. 

TagsHepatitis C, hepatitis patients, Sofosbuvir, hepatitis in China