TOPIC:

Agreed.

Unfortunately we signed the TPP which supports big Pharma and big profits. It's the big gravy train of overpaid fat cats.

Unfortunately this is the way we develop drugs and I have to admit that without it we don't get the research done.

It is ridiculous but it takes an average of fifteen years and three billion dollars to get a drug to market.

If its out there and people want it, they can get it.
If its out there and people really need it, they will get it.
Who will get treatment?
A billion dollars at $4000 a tx will cure 250,000.
Would Greediad go so low? I imagine $40,000 is closer
Are they going to treat by disease severity? How could they not? They said "regardless of condition". Does that mean an F-1 can get the cure when the last of the money is being spent instead of an F-4? Lottery? Age?
I don't know much about Australian politics, but up here, they tell you what you want to hear and then do what they want to do.
At least they have done something-a bunch of people can get well and Gilead will get a billion more dollars of blood money.
M

The medications are not S100 they are S80 so Gp's are going to be able to prescribe. So what is going to happen? Are they all going to stop writing scripts when they get to a specified sum? i don't think so.

The rate of new infections is declining and we already know that when you treat people in groups of people who inject drugs it significantly reduces new infections so with treatment that should drop even further.

If the drug companies are as greedy as everyone seems to think they will already be working out how to get these meds into pharmacies as quickly as possible. Gastros are getting there patients to return in March /April inline with this announcement. I can't foresee huge delays.

I don't think Drug Companies are greedy ,I know they are. Their track record to date confirms this. I want to see the fine print before I start praising Big Pharma.

If they wanted to do the right thing, they could help the 3.5 million people in the U.S. Gilead will milk the cow dry, butcher it, sell the meat and make glue and dogfood out of whats left.
M

Surely,they will bench mark and only those at a fiber score of 10 or higher will be treated,
even then I would think the higher scores are treated first.

It comes down to the cost per treatment how many can be treated in year one its a starting
point, I would think generics are still going to be needed.

I think, as many have discussed here, there has been a lot of focus on the 'importing of generics' as an option in the media this past 6 m+. This has made the Big Pharma very agitated, so now the Poli's and Pharma's get together and make a deal with a whole lot of media attention, back-slapping and drawing the attention back to them - The HepC Heroes who will save the day!! Giving the general population of HepC sufferers hope and faith that the Gov will pay for their care with no more 'waiting' and not to go spending money elsewhere to import generics on their own. They have fiddled with the figures and boosted their budget a bit to sound impressive but, as mentioned, this is money they've been spending on the interferon and public clinic tx. With GP's being able to write the scripts that means less of a burden on the public hospital clinics and hopefully a shorter waitlist.
For now they've created a diversion and are keeping all eyes on them and their solution and distracting everyone from alternatives. They will use the next few months until March to make the most of it.

I don't trust them, it's typical of the lead up to election time, 2016.

Yeah I agree Chejai, the fact generics in general, starting with Greg's pioneering journey, then Dr J and the club have been prominently in the spotlight to show up both the Govts inaction and big Pharma's greed can't have gone down well.

And they have their 'eye on the 2016 prize' for sure. All those moderate Libs newly elevated by Turnbull would definitely have that front & centre, just getting settled in their lucratively comfortable positions...nothing like a good news story they can manipulate milk in the run-up lol

And as a special bonus they get to whip up some public resentment against drug addicts...woo hoo!
Bet that caused some merriment in the halls of power.

mgalbrai wrote: Until everyone who is sick and wants to be treated sooner rather than later, can access treatment, the Buyer's Club is THE place. A billion dollars is a start and a great thing.
It is still just a start.
M

Yep true Mike, I see this Aussie thing as an Aussie thing related to Australian politics though, it doesnt change anything for the folks in Russia or USA or Argentina or Poland or wherever else, however the Fix Hepc Club can change things for those people, I am one of the lucky ones on the way to being cured already, We dont really know what impact the political announcement will make to Australians, it will make no difference to anybody else, the world is much bigger than Australia, millions are affected, maybey one day we will the Egyptian solution repeated around the world. I'm hopeful that things will change for everyone. I just wish it was sooner than later.
Jim