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UK Announces Funding Increased to Treat HCV Cirrhotics Only
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Download the PDF here
Download the PDF here
NHS News: Thousands more patients to be cured of hepatitis C
10 June 2015 - 11:02
This article has been amended to better reflect the policy document.
NHS England agrees funding for new drug treatments for Hep C
In what will be the NHS' single largest investment in new treatments this year, NHS England has today (11 June 2015) announced the budget will be increased to 190 million for new virological cures for hepatitis C, from the approximately 40 million which began last year.
Thousands of patients in England with cirrhosis caused by the hepatitis C virus will now be able to access new treatment options to prevent further damage to the liver, including the potential of end stage liver disease or cancer. The hepatitis C virus affects the liver's ability to function and is most commonly a result of the use of infected needles by intravenous drug users.
Richard Jeavons, NHS England's Director of Specialised Services, said: "At a time when funding is inevitably constrained across the NHS this is a huge new investment; in fact it'll be the NHS' single largest new treatment expansion this year. That's why we're also running a competitive tendering process in parallel, to seek to bring down the price of these very expensive new drugs."
Peter Moss, a Consultant and Chair of NHS England's Infectious Diseases Clinical Reference Group, said: "The new anti-viral drugs being made available through this scheme offer a huge improvement in care for patients with hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis".
· Infectious Diseases Clinical Reference Group
Charles Gore, Chief Executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: "Patients with cirrhosis will be delighted to have access to these new drugs. They are so tolerable that almost all of those with cirrhosis will want to take them and so potent that almost of those that do will be cured of their hepatitis C thereby massively reducing their risk of liver failure or liver cancer.
"This is a big step forward towards reversing the rising death-toll from this disease. People living with hepatitis C have been waiting for this revolution in therapy with huge expectation and now it has arrived we hope NHS England will move quickly to make it available to a rapidly increasing number of patients."
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NHS News:
http://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/06/10/patients-hep-c/
NHS England stumps up 190m for hep C therapy
Daily News | June 10, 2015
http://www.pharmatimes.com/Article/15-06-10/NHS_England_stumps_up_190m_for_hep_C_therapy.aspx
NHS England has agreed to invest a whopping 190 million this year in new treatments for hepatitis C, so that patients with liver cirrhosis can finally get NHS access to AbbVie's new interferon-free antiviral regimen as well as Gilead's Sovaldi and Harvoni, and thus hope for a cure.
Viekirax (ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir) and Exviera (dasabuvir) have actually been available in the UK since January 2015. But, because they are yet to receive funding approval from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, patients have not been getting access on the NHS, despite being at greatest risk of serious harm from a delay in treatment.
NICE backed the use of Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), as part of combination therapy, to treat genotypes 1-6 chronic hepatitis C in February, but patients were also left waiting for access to this drug as NHS England requested extra time to allow it to ensure that necessary funding arrangements are in place for the treatment. Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir) was recommended for NHS use in March.
It is estimated that NHS England's interim commissioning policy should help around 3,500 HCV patients with cirrhosis receive treatment with Viekirax, Exviera and Sovaldi by the end of the year, offering a potential cure and prevention of further liver damage.
Welcoming the move, Charles Gore, chief executive of The Hepatitis C Trust, said "finally, the sickest HCV patients will have a chance to access these highly efficacious, curative therapies that are generally well tolerated," but he also stressed that it's "critical" to implement the policy quickly so that eligible patients "at risk of serious health issues or even death without treatment can get rid of the virus".
Geoffrey Dusheiko, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at UCL Institute of Liver and Digestive Health and Royal Free Hospital, said the policy is "long-overdue but welcome", but also lamented that other patients in whom prevention of cirrhosis is equally important are still being left without access to these drugs.
"Only by all stakeholders in this field collaborating to find innovative ways to fund treatment and structure sustainable care pathways, will access in tandem for those without cirrhosis be possible, and our ambitions to eliminate this often fatal disease realised," he noted.
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NHS England sets up new 190m hep C fund
National Health Service (NHS) will spend 190 million ($294 million) for new treatments for the disease.
http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/nhs_england_sets_up_new_190m_hep_c_fund_755898
Will see patients gain access to treatments from Gilead and AbbVie
NHS England is stumping up 190m to pay for new hepatitis C treatments from AbbVie and Gilead that are yet to receive full funding from the country's health service.
The NHS's main commissioning body said that the existing budget for these drugs would be increased to 190m - up from the 40m budget that began last year.
This is the NHS's single largest investment in new treatments this year (except for the 280m Cancer Drugs Fund), but comes after a long delay for this extra funding stream.
The money will go to the roughly 3,500 hepatitis C patients in England and Wales with cirrhosis of the liver, and will gain access by the end of this year to AbbVie's Viekirax, a three-drug combination therapy for the disease, and Exviera (dasabuvir), as well as Gilead's hep C pills Sovaldi and Harvoni.
Sovaldi has been recommended by NICE as a cost-effective treatment for certain hep C patients, but NHS England has delayed funding for the drug until August, given its 35,000 price tag, which the body says is 'prohibitive'.
Harvoni was also recommended by NICE in March this year but is still to receive a final recommendation for funding. Meanwhile, AbbVie's Viekirax is yet to be appraised by the watchdog as it has only recently been approved in Europe.
In April 2014, NHS England set up a similar fund for Gilead's hep C pills, where it would pay out as much as 19m for late-stage patients before the medicines had been appraised by NICE.
Recent documents from NHS England seen by PMLiVE however showed that if Sovaldi and Harvoni were paid for at their full price for all patients, this would cost the NHS around 1bn - an upfront payment it simply cannot afford.
This is why there have been smaller silo funds being used to help those most at risk of needing a liver transplant - which can cost upwards of 50,000 - but also delays to funding with Sovaldi, so that the NHS can essentially save enough to pay for these new medicines.
The drugs are certainly costly, but recent phase III data have shown that they can cure between 95 - 99% of all hep C patients, which allows for significant savings in the longer term.
Richard Jeavons, NHS England's director of specialised services, said: "At a time when funding is inevitably constrained across the NHS this is a huge new investment; in fact it'll be the NHS' single largest new treatment expansion this year. That's why we're also running a competitive tendering process in parallel, to seek to bring down the price of these very expensive new drugs."
Charles Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: "Patients with cirrhosis will be delighted to have access to these new drugs. They are so tolerable that almost all of those with cirrhosis will want to take them and so potent that almost of those that do will be cured of their hepatitis C thereby massively reducing their risk of liver failure or liver cancer.
"This is a big step forward towards reversing the rising death-toll from this disease. People living with hepatitis C have been waiting for this revolution in therapy with huge expectation and now it has arrived we hope NHS England will move quickly to make it available to a rapidly increasing number of patients."
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