Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Gilead's Harvoni accepted in Canadian health plan





Gilead Sciences said multiple Canadian provinces will provide access to the biotechnology company's hepatitis C drug Harvoni following a positive reimbursement recommendation from regulators.



The recommendation means that both Harvoni and the 's Sovaldi are listed for public reimbursement for hepatitis in multiple Canadian provinces. The announcement comes one day after the biotechnology company warned that either drug had a potentially fatal complication if taken alongside the heart rhythm drug amiodarone.


Gilead has notified about the issue, in which it witnessed nine cases of in patients taking either drug in combination with amiodarone. One case resulted in death.


Shares of Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. rose 91 cents to $101.17 in premarket trading Tuesday an hour ahead of the market opening.



© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


Medical Xpress on facebook


Related Stories


Gilead faces lawsuit over hepatitis C drug pricing


Dec 10, 2014

Philadelphia's Transportation Authority has filed a lawsuit against Gilead Sciences Inc. over the pricing of its hepatitis C drug.



US approves pricey new pill against hepatitis C


Oct 10, 2014

US regulators on Friday approved Harvoni, a daily pill to treat hepatitis C that is simpler to administer than long-standing treatments but that carries a steep price tag.



Gilead to license generic version of Sovaldi (Update)


Sep 15, 2014

Gilead Sciences has reached a deal with several generic drugmakers to produce a cheaper version of its popular, $1,000-per-pill hepatitis C drug Sovaldi for use in developing countries.



Aetna picks Gilead Sciences hepatitis C drugs over AbbVie's


Jan 16, 2015

Insurer Aetna has made new hepatitis C drugs from Gilead Sciences Inc. preferred treatments for customers with the liver-destroying virus.



Bristol-Myers: FDA blocks hepatitis C drug for now


Nov 26, 2014

U.S. regulators have declined to approve Bristol-Myers Squibb's daclatasvir as part of a combination hepatitis C treatment with another antiviral drug called asunaprevir.





Recommended for you



Crushing medications risks effectiveness


Mar 23, 2015

People who take more than four doses of medicine a day appear more likely to crush tablets or open capsules potentially reducing their effectiveness, QUT research has found.



Sipuleucel-T in prostate cancer: Indication of added benefit


Mar 20, 2015

Sipuleucel-T (trade name Provenge) has been approved since September 2014 for men with metastatic prostate cancer who have few or no symptoms and do not yet require chemotherapy. In the dossier assessment conducted by the ...



FDA panel backs Glaxo inhaler for adults, not adolescents


Mar 19, 2015

Government health advisers say a once-a-day respiratory inhaler from GlaxoSmithKline appears safe and effective for adults with asthma, but not for adolescents.



Cholbam approved for rare metabolic disorders


Mar 18, 2015

(HealthDay)—Cholbam (cholic acid) capsules have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults and children with bile acid synthesis disorders and peroxisomal disorders, the agency said in a news ...




Prices of cancer drugs have soared since 1995, study finds


Mar 17, 2015

The prices of leading cancer drugs have risen at rates far outstripping inflation over the last two decades, according to a new study co-authored by an MIT economist—but the exact reasons for the cost increases ...



New hepatitis C drugs will place strain on health care system


Mar 16, 2015

The cost of treating people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with newly approved therapies will likely place a tremendous economic burden on the country's health care system. The prediction comes from a cost-effectiveness ...




User comments



Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more


Click here

to reset your password.


Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.











Categories:

0 comments:

Post a Comment