Arcigay, Anlaids, Lila, Nadir, Mario Mieli, and Plus report: "One year after the contract for reimbursement of new hepatitis C therapies was signed, only half of the promised 50,000 have been treated." "With the contract expiring in the coming months, the health of citizens with HIV and HCV co-infection will be lost, as will National Health Service resources, given the discounts expected for a higher volume of medicines purchased.".
“"One year after the contract for reimbursement of new hepatitis C therapies was signed, only half of the 50,000 patients that Health Minister Beatice Lorenzin had promised to treat with the fund for new drugs have been treated," denounced representatives of the associations Arcigay, Anlaids, Lila, Nadir, Mario Mieli, and Plus on the sidelines of the "Stop HIV-HCV Co-infection" conference, supported by the pharmaceutical company Gilead, held this morning in Rome. "There is a reasonable risk that the Italian system will not be able to enroll the 50,000 patients in a timely manner, as required by the (confidential) contract with Gilead, thus compromising the discounts provided for in the contract," the association representatives emphasize. "If this were to occur, it would be extremely serious, given that patients with HIV/HCV co-infection are already enrolled in treatment pathways that could guarantee not only rapid access to treatment with the new drugs, but also a very high level of adherence to treatment and care." "The data presented to date have strongly highlighted how the greatest public health and cost-effectiveness benefits would result from the immediate treatment of all people with HIV/HCV co-infection.".
“"AIFA, the pharmaceutical company Gilead, and the Ministry of Health appear to be playing a three-card monte, hoping to treat as many patients as possible but denying any transparency about the agreements reached," said Massimo Oldrini, president of the Italian League for the Fight against AIDS (LILA), who during his speech displayed a manifesto denouncing the three bodies that decide access to new drugs. "There is no concrete plan to guarantee treatment to the approximately 8,000 people with HIV and hepatitis C whose lives are at risk, unlike what other countries, such as Spain and Portugal, are doing," emphasized Simone Marcotullio, vice president of Nadir Onlus. "Not only is it immoral not to treat patients who could be permanently cured with currently highly effective drugs, but it is also shortsighted in terms of public health and a long-term burden on the healthcare system," continues Michele Breveglieri, Head of Health at Arcigay. "In Italy, in fact, there are approximately 30,000 people with HIV waiting to use the new hepatitis C drugs.".
Patient and citizen associations, as well as the relevant scientific community and advisory bodies of the Ministry of Health in Italy, have repeatedly raised the issue, but AIFA has consistently ignored their requests. "In Spain, people with HIV can access treatment for hepatitis C without major restrictions because it is recognized that HIV infection significantly impacts the overall health of individuals with hepatitis C," Diego Garcia of the Spanish association FEAT emphasized during the conference. "The drug costs approximately €20,000, with a cap of €750 million for 2015 and an estimated 52,000 patients for treatment, unlike in Italy where the price is unknown." .
ARCIGAY, Health Manager Michele Breveglieri
ANLAIDS, President Bruno Marchini
LILA, President Massimo Oldrini
NADIR, vice president Simone Marcotullio
Mr. Honey, President Mario Colamarino
PLUS, President Sandro Mattioli
