HIV pre-exposure drug approved for funding in B.C., but barriers remain

published on February 26, 2018 by HOLLY McKENZIE-SUTTER, in The Globe and Mail

Oren Adamson received a prescription for pre-exposure prophylaxis treatment in July of last year. Also known as PrEP, the once daily pill is believed to reduce the risk of contracting HIV by more than 90 per cent.

Health Canada approved PrEP in the form of the drug Truvada last year, but it has remained too expensive for many patients at $1,000 month. It's considerably cheaper – $70 – in the United States, prompting Mr. Adamson to drive from his home in Vancouver across the border every three months to a rented mailbox to pick up his prescription.

That changed in late December when the B.C. government announced it would become the first province, as of Jan. 1, to fully fund the generic form of the drug to patients at risk of contracting HIV – a policy that has seen 600 patients enroll in the program, but, patients and doctors say, hasn't completely removed the barriers to getting the drug.

In Mr. Adamson's case, even with a Vancouver-based physician who was supportive and open to prescribing PrEP, he had to educate his doctor about the funding decision.

"I was a little surprised. It seems like the word isn't really out as much as I thought it was," said Mr. Adamson. "I see it on my Facebook, in my social group it's talked about and it's a thing, but I guess it's not everywhere."

The funding program, which is overseen by the Vancouver-based BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, or BC-CfE, provides the drug for free to people at high risk of infection. As of Feb.15, there were 601 people enrolled in the program, with 32 requests still being processed. Of those, 60 per cent are completely new to PrEP. So far, 120 physicians in B.C. have prescribed the treatment. Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC-CfE, said it was a positive trend that suggests the "dear doctor letters" and educational materials sent to prescribing physicians from the BC-CfE are having an impact.

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Julio Montaner

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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HIV pre-exposure drug approved for funding in B.C., but barriers remain

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