State is advised to cover sickest
By Andy Davis
Posted: March 15, 2015 at 2:56 a.m.
Updated: March 15, 2015 at 2:57 a.m.
Drug companies have "priced these so ridiculously expensive, we're trying to identify which patients need treatment right now," said Jill Johnson, an associate pharmacy professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
In August, the board approved covering the drug Sovaldi, manufactured by Gilead Sciences of Foster City, Calif., which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2013, for certain patients.
At the same meeting, the board restricted any treatment to eradicate hepatitis-C to patients with liver scarring, known as fibrosis, significant enough to be rated at least a 3 under a scoring system that rates scarring on a scale of F0 to F4.
A score of F4 means the patient has cirrhosis, the most severe level of scarring.
Last month, the board's drug utilization and evaluation committee recommended covering two other drugs: Harvoni, also manufactured by Gilead and approved by the FDA in October; and Viekira Pak, a two-pill combination manufactured by North Chicago, Ill.-based AbbVie Inc. and approved by the FDA in December.
The committee also recommended broadening the criteria for coverage of Sovaldi. Currently, patients with the most common type of hepatitis-C, known as genotype 1, are eligible only if they have cirrhosis and are on a waiting list for a liver transplant.
In August, the board approved covering the drug Sovaldi, manufactured by Gilead Sciences of Foster City, Calif., which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2013, for certain patients.
At the same meeting, the board restricted any treatment to eradicate hepatitis-C to patients with liver scarring, known as fibrosis, significant enough to be rated at least a 3 under a scoring system that rates scarring on a scale of F0 to F4.
A score of F4 means the patient has cirrhosis, the most severe level of scarring.
Last month, the board's drug utilization and evaluation committee recommended covering two other drugs: Harvoni, also manufactured by Gilead and approved by the FDA in October; and Viekira Pak, a two-pill combination manufactured by North Chicago, Ill.-based AbbVie Inc. and approved by the FDA in December.
The committee also recommended broadening the criteria for coverage of Sovaldi. Currently, patients with the most common type of hepatitis-C, known as genotype 1, are eligible only if they have cirrhosis and are on a waiting list for a liver transplant.
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