Sadly, approving funding for only one drug doesn't make it any cheaper for Government because the number of people requiring treatment is the same. Government pays a fixed price for a cure no matter what drug is used.

I would have to disagree with this. New Zealand uses precisely this strategy. Their policy is that we need 1 or 2 good treatments for this problem, not every treatment from every manufacturer.

This translates into a reverse auction where manufacturers are invited to submit their best prices to get and keep the Government subsidy.

New Zealand's prices prove beyond any doubt that hard negotiation encourages Big Pharma to sharpen their pencils.

We pay 8 times more than New Zealand for the 73 common drugs - I am not making this up....

www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/37/5/150/1

The population of New Zealand is similar to that of Sydney. By rights we should be able to negotiate better volume discounts.

The cost savings to the PBS on this have been estimated to be more than $1 billion a year.

Sure Seymour...why they will be forced to triage the meds, as every other Western country has had to do. Its never going to be universal access for everyone affected.

Hi all, i've just moved to Adelaide, wondering if anyone knows a good doctor preferably south side to get script and followup treatment.
Cheers

Australia along with NZ is a member of an alliance with the USA called the ANZUS alliance.
The aim is that if any member is attacked one of the others will come to its rescue.It has led Australia to blindly follow the Americans into a succession of stupid,costly conflicts that have resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent people,Vietnam,Iraq,Afghanistan,Syria etc.Apart from Whitlam we have never had a leader with the guts to “Shirtfront the Americans”.
Many serious defence analysts have doubts as to whether the Americans would ever come to our aid if it weren't in their immediate interests.
Well the truth is 250000 of our citizens are under attack and in danger of being killed.
But its by a virus rather than a bullet.
The difference between a killer virus and a bullet is only semantics.
This is a quote from a post by Dr F elsewhere on the forum.I hope he doesn't mind.

"Dr Miriam Levy, the director of gastroenterology at Sydney's Liverpool Hospital, told the conference on Thursday that the recent decision by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to refuse subsidies for a breakthrough treatment for Hepatitis C had effectively delivered a death sentence to up to 50,000 Australians who would die from the disease in the next few years".


Have the Americans rushed to our aid.Well,only at a price that will bankrupt our PBS,and only further their own greed.
So why don't we dump the ANZUS alliance.There is no danger of the chinese invading Australia.
They can simply buy it,and they are.Its up for sale-cheap.A lot less messy,and an infusion of the Confusian ethic itnto Australian culture could have some positive benefits.And Mesochem could set up a factory here.
Oh,I know,its not that simple!

Sadly, approving funding for only one drug doesn't make it any cheaper for Government because the number of people requiring treatment is the same. Government pays a fixed price for a cure no matter what drug is used.

Believe they are in the same process as we are, re the new meds berrinice - but the Dr pointed out they are generally able to negoitiate lower pharm prices than Aust does...at least we could try his suggestion of not asking for all the new drugs at once but maybe a couple of start with, to keep the price more affordable.

And they are advising a 2-3 yr wait before expected approval of sovaldi + Intf/Riba, according to the hepatits Foundation of NZ


www.hepatitisfoundation.org.nz/index.php/hepc/treatment/

I have seen over the years new costly life saving medicines come onto the market. A small amount of TV publicity. Within a few weeks they have got PBS listing. I really would love it to be an exchange rate problem. I even think its a human rights issue. kindly

I was wondering Zhuk why are new zealander's buying thru the buyers club then?

There is possibly another reason for Australians to buy their medications now apart from the horror post of Dr F.
It is almost inevitable that sooner or later the American Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the USA.The prognosis is that it will occur sooner.It is also likely that our institutions such as the Banks,BHP etc will not be able to continue paying the high dividends that have attracted so much foreign capital to Aust.The net result will be a fall in the AUD relative to the USD.The RBA have often stated they would like to see it fall to around $65.Many involved in the inward tourist industry,and exporters would like it to fall much further.
So as the future outlook appears now,if you have not bought your medications,and they are priced in USD it would be pragmatic to buy them sooner rather than later otherwise you could be paying quite a large amount more.
Of course in finance nothing is ever certain.

Thanks, my current treatment is for 24 weeks. By the way I have been really struggling physically with this treatment. Couldn't exercise as usual, nanny naps, particularly after eating so tired I had to sleep. Now at the 8 week mark. Complete change. Very strange. kindly

Can imagine its an anxious wait, Seymour, esp with two previous treatment attempts. Great that you were able to get on a trial - and hopefully the 2wk undetected is a good sign for SVR.Fingers crossed for you

You are right mate - I hope the publicity and media focus is causing the Govt to squirm uncomfortably too, as it bloody well should. As Dr James has pointed out, no one in authority seems to be pulling their finger out in the way NZ does when negotiating meds pricing, to their shame.

I was told by my treating doc that I will die not because of Hep, he didn't think my fibroscan 18 at the time was a big deal. My gut instincts told me otherwise. Changed hospitals and hopefully this round of generic treatments works. kindly

Joy wrote: I remember reading on Greg's blog that Semiprevir is available on it's own, from the chemist with a script from your doctor. So I dug it out, under Sept. 3:://hepatitisctreatment.homestead.com/hepatitis-c-treatment.html

Perhaps the good doctor could clarify.

See here:

www.pbs.gov.au/medicine/item/10197q-10200w

Click on authority required. James has previously said he can't prescribe it. Think he said that only 2 docs in Tassie could one of whom is my gastroenterologist at RHH liver clinic. If you look at the PBS entry including the "Note" section you'll see there's all sorts of hoops to jump through in regard to the prescribing of it.

God I am so effing sick of typing with one finger on my left hand.

We all know why the government is doing nothing. It just ain't a fashionable disease that will win them any accolades. kindly

I consider myself to be extremely lucky to have had access to treatment with the new drugs before the majority Australians, especially as my liver is in pretty good shape. After two unsuccessful attempts with interferon based treatment, I wasn’t too impressed at being told in 2012 that I would probably die WITH hepatitis C, not OF it. Actually it is just luck that I happened to fit the criteria for a clinical trial in August of this year. What is not luck, is the three years I spent asking, negotiating and regularly turning up for my appointments to see if there was any way I could access interferon-free treatment. With my treatment over, my mind is now focussed on enabling other people to access treatment.

I celebrate the efforts of individuals like Greg Jeffreys and Dr James Freeman, that have made access to generics possible. There is no doubt that this is the prime reason why hep C treatment is in the news so much at present, and this must be causing Governments to squirm. I completely support people taking the initiative and helping themselves where bureaucracy has stood in their way.

I've been undetectable since week two of my treatment but my first post treatment blood test is on 20 November. I've been undetectable after treatment twice before, so this is a crucial test for me. I am trying not to think about it although I worry that every itch, chill or pain is the virus rebounding.