Hepatitis C drug delayed by NHS due to high cost

NICE backs new hepatitis C treatments
But Sovaldi faces funding delay and Olysio not backed in all indications

For Gilead the issue is a delay in access, with NHS patients unlikely to be offered treatment with Sovaldi until August due to an extension to the deadline that requires NHS England to have services and funding in place to meet the treatment recommendations for patients.
Stelios Karagiannoglou, Gilead's UK and Ireland general manager, said: “We are disappointed that the majority of patients will not gain access to this important medicine until later this year.”

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Hepatitis C drug delayed by NHS due to high cost
NHS England balks at bill for dispensing sofosbuvir: £1bn for every 20,000 people treated

The NHS is to delay the introduction of a highly expensive drug that can save the lives of people infected with the hepatitis C virus. The move by NHS England is unprecedented, because the NHS rationing body, Nice (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has approved the drug. Nice says sofosbuvir is cost-effective, because it is a cure for people who would otherwise run up huge NHS bills.

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