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13/11/2014
Early Access For New Treatments For Selected Hepatitis C Patients
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is putting a programme in place to provide early access to new treatments for Hepatitis C patients with the greatest clinical need, the Minister for Health has confirmed.
Minister Leo Varadkar said the patients have been identified by clinical experts as suffering from very serious liver disease and to be most likely to benefit substantially from this intervention.
He said: "I am very pleased that we can commence the use of these new medicines in Ireland. These drugs have the potential to bring major benefits for patients with serious illness as a result of Hepatitis C. I also want to thank Gilead, Janssen and Bristol Myers Squibb for agreeing to enter into negotiations with the HSE and the Department of Health in the interests of these seriously ill patients."
The early access programme will apply to patients deemed to have an urgent need for treatment, and for whom previously licensed drug treatments would not be appropriate. Similar early access programmes are in place in a number of other European countries.
A number of powerful new Direct-Acting Antiviral therapies are being licensed in Europe for people with Hepatitis C. As with other countries, Ireland must ensure that access to high-cost treatments such as these is managed, in order to prioritise access for patients who can benefit most, while ensuring that the financing model is sustainable and affordable. The aim is to provide access for as many patients as possible, within the resources provided by taxpayers.
(CD/MH)
Minister Leo Varadkar said the patients have been identified by clinical experts as suffering from very serious liver disease and to be most likely to benefit substantially from this intervention.
He said: "I am very pleased that we can commence the use of these new medicines in Ireland. These drugs have the potential to bring major benefits for patients with serious illness as a result of Hepatitis C. I also want to thank Gilead, Janssen and Bristol Myers Squibb for agreeing to enter into negotiations with the HSE and the Department of Health in the interests of these seriously ill patients."
The early access programme will apply to patients deemed to have an urgent need for treatment, and for whom previously licensed drug treatments would not be appropriate. Similar early access programmes are in place in a number of other European countries.
A number of powerful new Direct-Acting Antiviral therapies are being licensed in Europe for people with Hepatitis C. As with other countries, Ireland must ensure that access to high-cost treatments such as these is managed, in order to prioritise access for patients who can benefit most, while ensuring that the financing model is sustainable and affordable. The aim is to provide access for as many patients as possible, within the resources provided by taxpayers.
(CD/MH)
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