Gilead uses Georgia as free-drug testbed for hepatitis C elimination

(Reuters) - Gilead Sciences is seeking to convince governments and multilateral agencies worldwide that hepatitis C can be eliminated with a demonstration project in Georgia offering free drugs to all those who need them.

The unprecedented program will make the Caucasian country a testbed for uprooting the liver-destroying disease, using Gilead's highly effective but costly pill Sovaldi, plus its newer product Harvoni once approved.

Georgia has the world's third highest prevalence of hepatitis C, after Egypt and Mongolia, with nearly 7 percent of adults carrying the virus. It also has a wide range of viral variations and different types of patients.

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