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Alan Franciscus

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HCV Advocate



Showing posts with label sofosbuvir (Sovaldi). Show all posts
Showing posts with label sofosbuvir (Sovaldi). Show all posts

Thursday, January 15, 2015

UK: Hepatitis C drug delayed by NHS due to high cost

The NHS is to delay the introduction of a highly expensive drug that can save the lives of people infected with the hepatitis C virus. The move by NHS England is unprecedented, because the NHS rationing body, Nice (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has approved the drug. Nice says sofosbuvir is cost-effective, because it is a cure for people who would otherwise run up huge NHS bills.

One in three people infected with hepatitis C will develop liver cirrhosis and some will get cancer. A liver transplant costs more than £50,000.

But NHS England appears to be balking at the bill for the drug, which would hit £1bn for every 20,000 people treated. Approximately 160,000 people in England alone are infected with hepatitis C, although fewer than half are aware of it.

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