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New Zealanders unable to afford the $100,000 price for hepatitis C medication have been offered a lifeline from an Australian Dallas Buyers Club-style operation.
Dozens of Kiwis facing liver disease and a shortened life as a result of the virus have travelled to Australia to pick up wonder drugs with the help of Tasmanian doctor James Freeman.
Freeman set up a Dallas Buyers Club-style operation in February 2015 to help Australian hepatitis C patients import generic versions of a break-through medication patented by multinational pharmaceutical Gilead.
Three Dunedin women are among about 100 Kiwis who have used Freeman’s Fix Hep C Buyers Club. The women now want to spread the message to New Zealand’s estimated 50,000 hepatitis C sufferers.
In the past three months, all three women have had an appointment with Freeman on Skype, flown to Australia, collected the drugs, and started their treatment programmes.