HUNDREDS of NHS patients in Scotland with a chronic form of Hepatitis C are to benefit from a life-saving pill.
The £3,123 per week treatment, which is a combination of medicines going under the brand name Harvoni, has been approved for use by the health service north of the Border.
It is to be manufactured for 501 patients and despite the cost is predicted to deliver knock-on savings of £404,000 for the NHS in its first year of use as a result of displacing other, more expensive, medicines from the NHS budget.
Harvoni cures at least nine out of ten patients with a chronic form of Hepatitis C.
It is shown to eliminate the virus in 93 to 99 per cent of cases during clinical trials and can now be prescribed to adults with two out of the six forms of the disease - known as genotypes one and four.
The move comes after the Scottish Medicines Consortium ruled that the drug, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, offered value for money.
It combines 90mg of ledipasvir and 400mg sofosbuvir, is the first treatment Hep C which can be taken orally as a single, daily pill. It also eliminates the need for interferon injections, which are known for causing debilitating side effects.
Harvoni can be taken as an eight, 12 or 24 week course depending on a patient's medical history and their level of liver damage - a much shorter treatment period that existing therapies.
The combination of a shorter treatment duration and fewer side effects are expected to "help patients continue with their daily lives" and adhere to the regime long enough to kick the virus.
Dr John Dillon, Clinical Reader in Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Dundee University and chair of the Scottish Government's Hepatitis C Action Plan Clinical Leads group, welcomed the decision.
He said: "We are in a period of great change in the treatment of hepatitis C, with the efficacy and tolerability of medicines improving, as the length of treatment reduces. Providing access to new innovative hepatitis C therapies like Harvoni, that can cure more patients, is one of the most important steps in changing the impact that this infection will have on individuals and our wider society.
"This SMC advice is welcome news for hepatitis C patients and the clinical community in Scotland."
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne which attacks liver cells. It is mainly contracted via contaminated blood products or among drug users sharing needles, but can also be transmitted sexually.
It can lie dormant in the body for decades with no symptoms of infection. Without treatment, however, it can eventually progress and cause serious liver damage.
It was first identified by scientists in 1989 and there six different strains, known as genotypes one to six.
Since 1996, liver-related deaths among people diagnosed with hepatitis C in Scotland have increased three-fold, with deaths from hepatitis C now outstripping deaths associated with HIV.
Around eight in every 10 cases becomes chronic - characterised by fatigue, mild cognitive problems, and in some cases cirrhosis of the liver which would eventually prove fatal without a transplant.
It is estimated that there are 37,000 people in Scotland chronically ill with Hep C.
The Scottish Government identified it as "one of the most serious and significant public health risks of our generation" in 2004.
Stelios Karagiannoglou, General Manager in the UK and Ireland for Gilead Sciences said: "This treatment represents an opportunity to reduce overall NHS spending on hepatitis C because of improved treatment efficacy and tolerability, which allow more patients the potential to complete treatment and achieve cure. By bringing down the treatment duration for many patients with ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, the cost of cure is also reducing."
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