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With the approval of two new drugs
for the Australia Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), hepatitis C patients
will have better access to treatment. After months of lobbying by health
workers, the Australian government announced in February that it would place telaprevir
and boceprevir on the PBS. The new drugs have been found to increase cure rates
and reduce treatment times. St. Vincents Hospital’s Dr. Alex Thompson, head of
hepatology research, declared that telaprevir and boceprevir were raising cure
rates from 40 percent to 80 percent for chronic hepatitis C.
Chief Executive Melanie Eagle of
Hepatitis Victoria stated that the two drugs would have "real life
impacts" on patients. According to Hepatitis Victoria, infection rates are
on the rise in the western Australian suburbs, as is the number of patients
needing treatment. Maribyrnong has the third highest rate of hepatitis
infections in metropolitan Melbourne, followed by Brimbank Large populations of
at-risk groups also reside in the Australian cities of Hume, Wyndham, and
Melton.
Eagle emphasized that the drugs
offered patients hope. "They are a more successful, less intrusive form of
treatment. We're urging people with hepatitis to make an appointment with their
doctor and discuss these new treatments now.” Prime Minister and Labor MP Julia
Gillard said that by adding the drugs to the PBS, the Australian government was
preventing people with hepatitis C from having to pay up to $78,000 a year for
treatment.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
