ADAP recipients offered free HCV drug therapy
Schering-Plough makes offer to states
In a year that has seen waiting lists grow and funding fall short of increasing needs, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) has received one piece of good news: Up to 1,500 ADAP clients are eligible to enroll for free hepatitis C drug therapy during the next year.
About 20 states have hepatitis C treatment in their ADAP formularies, and poor clients in other states might not have access to the treatment, so free HCV drug therapy will assist both state budgets and HIV patients, says Murray Penner, director of care and treatment programs for the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors in Washington, DC.
NASTAD had begun speaking with Schering-Plough Corp. of Kenilworth, NJ, to obtain contractual prices for peginterferon alfa-2b (PEG-INTRON) to treat ADAP patients with hepatitis C infection, explains Bob Consalvo, spokesman for Schering-Plough.
"We have a contractual arrangement for one year to provide a very low price for PEG-INTRON," he says. "In addition to that, we wanted to provide a free goods program for up to 1,500 patients for full course therapy for one year."
Full course hepatitis C treatment lasts 48 weeks, and its cost varies depending on an individual patient’s weight and whether generic drugs are used, but could amount $20,000 a year, Consalvo says.
HIV clinicians should refer HCV-infected HIV patients who are on ADAP to their state’s ADAP to be screened for the free peginterferon treatment, Penner says.
"Each state has an allotment of slots based on the AIDS incidence in their state, and they can refer patients, using a unique identifier, to the Schering-Plough program," he explains.
How the program works
Here’s how it works: ADAP clients need to obtain a Commitment to Community unique identification number from ADAP, and then they can talk with their doctor and call Schering’s Commitment to Care program at (800) 521-7157.
The program will fax a prescription form to the physician and send a patient consent form for the patient’s signature.
Once the prescription is received from the physician, the program will call the patient to schedule delivery of the medication. ADAP patients with hepatitis C infection may learn more about HCV infection by calling (888) 437-2608 or by visiting the web site: www.beincharge.com.
Through the pharmaceutical company’s Commitment to Community Program, ADAP patients will receive a combination therapy of peginterferon alfa-2b powder for injection and ribavirin USP (REBETOL) capsules.
ADAP patients with hepatitis C also will have access to Schering-Plough’s free patient support program, called Be In Charge. It provides 24-hour toll-free telephone access to a nurse counselor, as well as to educational tools.
In a year that has seen waiting lists grow and funding fall short of increasing needs, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) has received one piece of good news: Up to 1,500 ADAP clients are eligible to enroll for free hepatitis C drug therapy during the next year.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content