Canada: Hepatitis C treatments skyrocket after pill-based drugs covered by B.C. plan

About 1,400 British Columbians have been treated for hepatitis C in the first four months since new anti-viral medications were covered by the province’s public drug plan — far above predictions.

The Ministry of Health expected 1,500 patients in the first full year for the pill-based medication.
Dr. Mel Krajden, medical head of hepatitis at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, says the numbers reflect pent-up demand from patients seeking the latest treatments.

“A lot of people who are infected follow the literature on these drugs and they were waiting for the newer ones. It’s a whole group of people who realized these medications are more effective, better tolerated with fewer side effects and work over a shorter period of time,” Krajden said at a World Hepatitis Day event Tuesday in Vancouver.

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Canada: Quebec to start reimbursing for 'revolutionary' Hepatitis C treatment

Quebec has decided to reimburse “revolutionary” drugs that can cure Hepatitis C, but only for the sickest patients at first.

According to the rules adopted by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, some Quebecers with the disease will have to wait three years before getting access to new treatments.

The measures concern two drugs called Harvoni and Holkira Pak that are supposed to cure the condition in 8-12 weeks.

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Canada: Province covers cost of new hepatitis C drugs

The Saskatchewan government says it will now provide new drug coverage for hepatitis C -- a viral disease that affects the liver.

Health Minister Dustin Duncan says the new drugs, Harvoni and Sovaldi, are better tolerated by patients than other therapies.

The drugs are said to cure 90 to 98 per cent of patients in as little as eight to 12 weeks.

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Canada: Ontario decision to cover costly hepatitis C drug a lifesaver, doctor says

Ottawa liver specialist Dr. Curtis Cooper is calling Ontario’s decision to pay for new treatments that can cure hepatitis C a “landmark event” that will change the lives of thousands of people with the disease.

Cooper, director of The Ottawa Hospital and Regional Hepatitis Program, sees thousands of hepatitis C patients, many of whom will benefit from the new drug therapy now that it is covered by the province.

“This is going to mean the difference between health or illness and death,” for many patients, he said.

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Canada: With hep C, no province is an island

Let the hepatitis C treatment wars begin.

Prince Edward Island has quietly announced that it will fund a costly new treatment for sufferers of the disease – an announcement with potentially dramatic public-policy repercussions.

For patients infected with hepatitis C virus, a potentially deadly liver disease, this is good news. The new antiviral treatments are the closest thing to miracle drugs that have come along in a long while – with a cure rate in the range of 95 to 97 per cent.

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