The Egyptian government has concluded an agreement with US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences to receive a shipment of the Hepatitis C (HCV) drug Sovaldi, which will be available in Egypt from September.

The agreement will provide the drug for one percent of its market price, only LE2,200 ($300). A statement by the Egyptian cabinet on Monday said the drug's success rate was 90 percent.

Gilead had offered Egypt the drug at a low price in March.

Egypt has the highest prevalence rate of Hepatitis C in the world. Infections spiked from four percent in 1993 to 8.5 percent in 2005. The total estimated number of Egyptians infected is currently around 12 million.

The launch of a device claimed by the Egyptian military to cure Hepatitis C, which was due in June, has been postponed for six months.