The Week in Review: May 19 – June 2, 2017

This page is an archive. Its content may no longer be accurate and was last updated on the original publication date. It is intended for reference and as a historical record only. For hep C questions, call Help4Hep BC at 1-888-411-7578.

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Friday, June 2, 2017

News Recap

Boomers Should Be Tested
Most of the HepC-related news last week from various agencies in the USA stressed the fact that Baby Boomers should be tested and that hepatitis C is a hidden and growing danger (GET TESTED: 1 in 30 baby boomers have Hepatitis C, 70 percent are unaware).

In Canada voices of dissent can be heard regarding the federal government’s asinine decision NOT to test Boomers.  The decision was based on a cost analysis that went out-of-date well before the screening recommendations from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTFPHC) were released. The cost analysis was based on the price of drugs BEFORE the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (PCPA) negotiated a deal between the drug makers and the provincial, territorial and federal governments that SUBSTANTIALLY reduced the cost of the drugs! We are still waiting for some reaction from Ottawa….unfriggin believable!.  Dear Minster Philpott: It’s okay to make mistakes. Just say you’re sorry, fix it and move on! (Critics push back against hepatitis C screening advice, say boomers should be tested)

Last: A pill that contains three powerful antiviral drugs might offer a cure for many hepatitis C patients who have failed other treatments, researchers report. The pill — which contains the antiviral drugs sofosbuvir (Sovaldi), velpatasvir and voxilaprevir — was nearly 100 percent effective in curing hepatitis C in patients whose disease returned (New Combo Pill Offers Hope to Hepatitis C Patients Who Fail Other Treatment).

Generics
Well there was NO Weekly Bull last week because there was really no new Canadian hepatitis C news that we thought you really needed to hear.

There were 3 articles about buyers clubs and the efficacy of generics: 1) A warning from Gilead that the lack of quality control made them dangerous (Gilead warns against Hep C drugs from buyers clubs, says patients may be at risk); 2) an article about buyers clubs in Indonesia where the problems of poverty and disease progression far outweigh the risks of defective production (Indonesian buyers club helps people obtain generic hepatitis C treatment); 3) and an article about Greg Jefferys and Dr. James Freeman and the buyers clubs from Australia (Aussie duo find global consumers for Indian generics).

As Lucinda K. Porter, RN says in her review of a study on generics presented at ILC 2017 in April:

“HCV treatment using equivalent generic medications is a feasible, economic treatment choice, especially when considering limited access to non-generics. James Freeman and colleagues provide an excellent, evidence-based service to the hepatitis C community.  Note that the generics provided in this study have been quality tested.  I strongly suggest avoiding the purchase of generic drugs from any source that has not been properly vetted.”

http://hcvadvocate.org/news/NewsUpdates_pdf/Advocate_2017
/advocate0617.pdf#MoreOfTheBest

For those of us living in Canada where drugs are now covered by the pharmacares in most provinces, use of generics should no longer figure as an option. However, there are cases where coverage may not accessible or there may be no clinical trials enrolling in Canada for which you are eligible, in which case we recommend that if you do decide to try generics that you contact Dr. James Freeman at the FixHepC Buyers Club (http://fixhepc.com/getting-treated/how-to-do-it/buyers-club.html) and enroll in one of the strictly monitored trials.

 

Coming Up!

HepCBC will have Info booths at the following: