‘Revolutionary’ free hepatitis C drug pitched
What has been called a ‘‘revolutionary’’ hepatitis C drug could soon be available free-of-charge to all Kiwis with the chronic form of the infection.
Pharmac, the Government’s drug funding body, has released a proposal to fund direct acting anti-viral (DAA) drug Maviret for anyone with chronic hepatitis C.
Health workers and patients say moving to make the drug available from October 1 has the potential to all-but eradicate the disease in New Zealand.
An estimated 50,000 people have hepatitis C in New Zealand. Half are unaware they have the virus. The blood-borne disease attacks the liver and can lead to cancer.
The World Health Organisation wants to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030.
Auckland hepatologist Professor Ed Gane said wider access to the drug could make that target achievable in New Zealand. ‘‘It is . . . as revolutionary a change as you could ever expect to see in any disease.’’ Pharmac director of operations Lisa Williams said the proposal is open to feedback through a consultation period ending on August 13.
Gane said Maviret would provide a cure for all genotypes of the virus. This would lead to a decline in demand for liver transplants from those with end stage liver disease, Gane said.
Patient advocate Hazel Heal, from Hep C Action Aotearoa, said the proposal was momentous, particularly given the WHO’s
2030 target. ‘‘[Maviret] is the very best tool for elimination. I got diagnosed [with hepatitis C] in
1992 and I will probably see it eliminated in my lifetime.’’
Heal believes global pressure on drug manufacturers was behind a recent and radical ‘‘market correction’’ for hepatitis C drugs, led by AbbVie Ltd’s pricing of Maviret.
The drug company that released the first DAA drug treatments for hepatitis C in 2014, Gilead, was widely condemned for their exorbitantly high prices which blocked access for millions of sufferers.
Since then, other drug companies developed other treatments with similar or better outcomes. Patients have sourced generic versions of Gilead’s drugs, legally and illegally.
The drop in price for the superior treatment was having a ripple effect on other hepatitis C drugs, including those produced by Gilead, Heal said. ‘‘It feels like a victory.’’