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Growing numbers of New Zealanders are getting backdoor access to revolutionary hepatitis C drugs at a fraction of the cost.
More than 90 percent of people treated with the drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni are cured of hepatitis C, which causes liver disease and autoimmune disorders, but at $NZ1500 per tablet the treatment is prohibitively expensive for most New Zealanders.
The recommended 12-week course of the drugs costs more than $140,000.
Although Pharmac is getting clinical advice on the therapy, it does not yet fund the drugs here. In New Zealand, it’s estimated about 55,000 people have hepatitis C.
But with India licensed to produce generic forms of the drugs, an Australian “buyers’ club” has enabled patients to get the medication from India for anywhere between $2000 and $4000 per 12-week.
FixHepC was set up by Tasmanian GP James Freeman and so far 114 hepatitis C patients from New Zealanders have used the service.
He told Nine to Noon the Hobart-based organisation began with a trial in mid-2015 which went large scale in September.
“We noticed a number of New Zealanders were voting with their feet – popping over to Australia to pick up medication, and travelling home and starting treatment.”
About 114 New Zealanders are thought to have accessed hepatitis C medication through the FixHepC channel.