WATCH ABOVE: Nova Scotia is following the footsteps of other provinces to cover the cost of a new and more effective drug to treat Hepatitis C. Julia Wong explains.
HALIFAX – Hepatitis C patients in Nova Scotia can expect some good news – the province will soon cover the cost of a new drug that has a high success rate in treating the disease.
HOLKIRA PAK is a combination of medications that directly inhibits and kills the Hepatitis C virus, according to Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease physician with Nova Scotia Health Authority.
“It’s been a big revolution in Hepatitis C treatment over the last four to five years,” she said.
The drug was approved by Health Canada in December 2014. Trials indicate a 90 per cent success rate with fewer side effects and shorter treatment time than other medications. Four pills must be taken each day for 12 weeks.
Judy McPhee, the executive director of pharmaceutical services for the Department of Health and Wellness, said the drug should be added to the formulary program within the next month or two.
The province’s budget for all Hepatitis C drugs is between three and four million dollars. There will be no additional cost to the budget to add HOLKIRA PAK to that list.
McPhee expects approximately 100 Nova Scotians to benefit from the drug’s inclusion. She said patients will be screened to ensure they are eligible for the program.
Nova Scotia’s decision to add HOLKIRA PAK to its formulary program comes on the heels of similar announcements by other provinces such as PEI, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
“It’s a godsend”
Kevin Dobson, 54, of Dartmouth was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2003. Dobson participated in a pharmaceutical trial of HOLKIRA PAK in June and said the difference in his quality of life was noticeable.
“I had more energy. I didn’t have a lot of joint pain and muscle pain,” he said.
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Preliminary tests indicate he no longer has the virus in his body. Further tests next month will confirm that.
“I no longer have that dark cloud over my head worrying about how many years I’ll have left. Basically it’s a godsend,” he said.
“I’m going to be around for a while hopefully. [It’s a] Second shot at life.”
Dobson said the drug would have cost approximately $70,000 out-of-pocket. He has been vocal about the province stepping up to pick up the tab for Hepatitis C patients.
“It’s a question of compassion or it’s the question of money,” he said, adding the addition of HOLKIRA PAK to the formulary will give new hope to patients.
Higher efficacy than other drugs
Dr. Barrett said the drug has advantages over other Hepatitis C drugs that are already in the province’s formulary.
“We treated people with medications that didn’t really act against the virus altogether. There were a couple but either way it was a very long therapy, about a year. You had a 50-50 shot of getting cured only and the treatment itself made most people pretty sick. A lot of people would compare it to a chemotherapy,” she said.
Barrett said the fact the province will soon pay for the drug gives her greater confidence when speaking to patients about their options.
“It’s an amazing change in how you approach going to a room with somebody who has a chronic viral infection like Hepatitis. You’ve gone from going in and saying ‘You may or may not be cured’ to ‘I’ve got an excellent treatment’.”
She said the inclusion of HOLKIRA PAK is heartening for physicians who treat Hepatitis C patients.
“It’s not something we want to cure in one or two people. We’re going for treating everyone, getting everybody cured and preventing liver disease internationally around the world,” she said.
“For the province, I think it’s just the right thing for them to provide yet another tool for us to treat Hepatitis C.”
Long-term benefits for healthcare system
There are roughly 5,000 people in the province living with Hepatitis C, according to Hepatitis Nova Scotia.
Executive Director Carla Densmore said the addition of a new drug to the formulary is not only important for patients but for the healthcare system as a whole.
“Even though the drug is very costly right now, it would cost the province more in their healthcare budget not to treat people before they become symptomatic,” she said.
Densmore said the news about HOLKIRA PAK is exciting for Hepatitis C patients.
“It’s a ray of hope. They’re looking at a death sentence basically and for them to hear there’s a new drug like this that will save their lives, it’s just overwhelming to the patients.”
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