CF sufferers told to wait even as Manitoba tweaks pharmacare

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This article was published 14/10/2021 (1823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province’s health minister has told people battling cystic fibrosis to stay tuned about a new drug despite the province amending legislation to make it easer for Manitobans to get access to drugs and other therapies.

Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan announced last week they would cover the cost of Trikafta, and with Nova Scotia following suit on Thursday, Health Minister Audrey Gordon told reporters on Thursday “we are always listening to Manitobans.

“There are always new drugs coming forward… there is a process to assess new research, new drugs, new treatment that comes forward. We are going through that process with Trikafta.

“More than 200 Manitobans have been waiting for Trikafta to be added to the formulary. We listened, we heard you, and stay tuned because I’ll have new information to share with you very soon.”

The drug, which Cystic Fibrosis Canada has called the ‘biggest innovation in cystic fibrosis treatment’, is backed by research which shows it can help 90 per cent of patients by stopping the faulty protein that causes the mucus buildup which fills the lungs.

But it is not cheap.

It is about $300,000 per year at its list price. A draft recommendation by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health says the drug should be used on patients with less than 90 per cent lung function.

Meanwhile, the province announced it was making changes to the Pharmaceutical Act and the Prescription Drugs Cost Assistance Act to allow updates to both the Manitoba Drug Interchangeability Formulary and the Manitoba Drug Benefit Formulary to be done by changing provincial policy instead of regulation.

The province says it would allow it to be able to add lower-cost generic drugs more quickly while being able to add or drop drugs from the formularies in the event of drug shortages.

“This is an important shift that will modernize and streamline the process for prescription drugs to become available to Manitobans,” said Gordon in a statement.

“We know how important the pharmacare program is to thousands of people to ensure they have access to medications to support their health and quality of life. This amendment allows us to be more responsive when new medication becomes available and reduces the time required to add to the formulary.”

The formularies list the drugs which have been approved to be on the pharmacare drug benefit program.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca