Victoria – As of Wednesday, Aug. 19, the Ministry of Health will provide coverage of edaravone, or Radicava, for patients living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease) upon conclusion of negotiations with its manufacturer.
In British Columbia, approximately 480 people have been diagnosed with ALS. ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease where patients typically become unable to move, speak, swallow and breathe as the condition progresses. In one clinical trial, edaravone has helped slow the worsening of this disease in a select ALS patient subpopulation.
Edaravone has been under pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) negotiation since September 2019. The negotiations between the manufacturer, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, and the pCPA meet B.C.’s cost-related mandate.
“The offer from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation meets British Columbia’s criteria, which is great news for patients suffering from this deadly disease,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “B.C. will continue to support ALS patients through its expansion of coverage of life-changing drugs and research funding to improve the lives of British Columbians.”
It is expected that between 66 to 183 patients will benefit from the coverage in the first year. The list price of edaravone is around $120,000 per patient, per year.
To further support patients living with ALS throughout the province, the ALS Society of British Columbia has raised $1 million and the B.C. government has provided $1 million to match that effort.
“The work of the ALS Society of BC helps provide care to patients, supports clinical trials and research,” Dix said. “This organization has done extraordinary things to enable patients to participate in their care, prolong survival, and improve well-being, and we are happy to support them in that great work.”
The combined $2 million will be used over the next five years to develop an ALS centre of excellence in Vancouver that will not only serve patients in the Vancouver area, but also provincewide through mobile clinics.
This investment will:
- advance patient care for ALS in British Columbia;
- further improve patient outcomes; and
- help attract dedicated physicians and neurologists that are critically needed over the coming years.
New additions to PharmaCare formulary
Additional medications have also been made to the PharmaCare formulary under limited coverage. Limited coverage drugs are not generally considered to be first-line therapies or there are more cost-effective alternatives.
To be eligible for coverage of these drugs, the patient must meet criteria pre-defined by PharmaCare. Actual coverage depends on rules of the patient’s PharmaCare plan, including any annual deductible requirement.
These recent additions to the formulary since May 2020 include:
- Mepolizumab line extension for the treatment of asthma. Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction and easily triggered breathing spasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.
- Glecaprevir+pibrentasvir (Maviret) for the treatment of Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation, sometimes leading to serious liver damage.
- Sarilumab (Kevzara) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition that primarily impacts a person’s joints. In some people, the condition can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels.
- Cladribine (Mavenclad) and Ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a disease with the potential to permanently disable the brain and spinal cord.
- Inhaler coverage changes, including addition of Trelegy, for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by long-term breathing problems. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and cough. COPD is a progressive disease, meaning it typically worsens over time. Many people have unrecognized COPD and remain undiagnosed.
