The bitterest pill for hepatitis C patients

The current standard treatment is unsuitable for about 50 percent of people diagnosed with the virus, but China's lengthy drug approval system means many look overseas for medication, as Shan Juan reports.

At least one in 10 of the global population with hepatitis C lives in China. However, despite being available in most parts of the world, drugs known as "direct-acting antivirals", or DAAs, which can cure at least 95 percent of cases, are not available in the Chinese mainland.

Hepatitis C affects the liver, and 80 percent of patients develop a chronic infection, according to medical experts.