Washington, A latest breakthrough treatment for the deadly Hepatitis C virus could soon be available in India as 11 Indian firms have been given licenses by its American manufacturer following an approval from US authorities.

Last week the US Food and Drug Administration( FDA ) approved a drug called Epclusa, which treats all genotypes of the Hepatitis C virus developed by Gilead Sciences.

The deadly Hepatitis C virus afflicts as many as 150 million people worldwide and possibly 12 million in India.

Gilead Sciences, together with its 11 partners in India, are pioneering a voluntary licensing model that transfers technology and Intellectual Property for latest treatment sand cur es for viral Hepatitis and HIV.

“The approval of Epclusa represents an important step forward in the global effort to control and potentially eliminate HCV as it provides a safe, simple and effective cure for the majority of HCV-infected patients, regardless of genotype,” said Ira Jacobson, MD, chairman of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York and a principal investigator in the Epclusa clinical trials.