Hepatitis drug claims today

GILEAD Sciences is reminding pharmacists that today is the last day to claim “price variation credit” for its PBS listed hepatitis treatments Epclusa (sofosbuvir/ velpatasvir), Harvoni (ledipasvir/ sofosbuvir) and Sovaldi (sofosbuvir).

The products enjoy a price cut effective from tomorrow 01 Aug so to account for the price reduction, Gilead asks that all community and hospital pharmacies provide their wholesaler with a referenced screenshot of their inventory system confirming the quantities of the relevant products by close of business today.

The screenshot must include the date (31 Jul 2018), the product description and quantity of stock on hand.

All claims will be processed through wholesalers and Gilead asks that pharmacies do not return stock of the medications in order for this credit to be processed.

Once approved, a credit/recharge will be applied for the claimed quantities from wholesalers for the approved pricing difference.

For further information pharmacies are advised to contact their wholesalers directly.

Health Minister Greg Hunt also yesterday confirmed the 01 Aug PBS listing of Abbvie’s Maviret (glecaprevir/pibrentasvir), a new once-daily eight-week therapy for treatment naive, non-cirrhotic adults with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Pharmacists are being urged to discuss treatment options with at-risk groups such as injecting drug users to help provide an “important bridge” that leads to the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C.

MEANWHILE the government has launched a community awareness campaign about hepatitis C, after an “alarming drop” in the number of Australians accessing the PBSlisted cures for the condition.

The “Test, Cure, Live” campaign has been welcomed by Hepatitis Australia, with ceo Helen Tyrrell saying “it is a tragedy that hundreds of thousands of Australians are missing out on life-saving therapies which can cure hepatitis C in a matter of weeks...when these cures are readily available”.