Minister of Health Terry Lake announced a new medication to treat hepatitis C will be added to the public drug plan in British Columbia.
The announcement was made to coincide with World Hepatitis Day. Now people with Hepatitis C genotype 1 can apply for coverage of Holkira Pak. Based on recent studies, the drug has had a successful track record, curing 90 per cent of people treated.
“B.C. has once again been able to expand treatment options for people living with hepatitis C, which will change the lives of these people and their families,” said Lake. “We’ve been able to do so thanks to interprovincial co-operation in negotiating lower prices, part of the hard work B.C. has done to bend the cost curve on drugs overall, especially generic drugs. ”
Drug coverage was made through a joint effort from the B.C. and Ontario provincial governments with the drug provider through the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance. The alliance works with provinces, territories and the federal government to leverage their collective buying power.
Holkira Pak is the third new generation hepatitis C drug covered under B.C. PharmaCare on the past year.
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