Starting today, July 18, the province will pay for the drug Trikafta for cystic fibrosis for children ages six to 11.
“This drug offers the hope of living longer and healthier for many children with cystic fibrosis,” said Health and Welfare Minister Michelle Thompson. “That’s why we moved so quickly to make it available to the children of Nova Scotia who need it.”
Health Canada approved the use of Trikafta to treat children between the ages of six and 11 on April 20th. On July 6, the Canadian Agency for Medicines and Health Technologies recommended that provinces provide drug coverage for children in this age group.
The agency’s July 6 recommendations also included the removal of some drug qualification criteria to make it available to more patients with cystic fibrosis. Nova Scotia will also implement these recommendations.
Cystic fibrosis is a progressive genetic disease that affects children and adults. It is the most common deadly genetic disease affecting children and young adults in Canada. Trikafta can be used to treat about 90% of patients with cystic fibrosis.
Neo-Scots with cystic fibrosis aged 12 years or older are eligible for Trikafta with provincial funding from November 2021.
Without this program, Trikafta could cost patients up to $ 300,000 a year.
Quotes:
Today’s news will change the trajectory of the disease and the future of many children and adults in Nova Scotia living with cystic fibrosis. Last year, Nova Scotia funded the drug for people aged 12 and over, and today it has continued to recognize the extraordinary transformative value of Trikafta by expanding Trikafta’s coverage to include children aged six to 11. We are pleased to see that the restrictive onset criterion has also been removed, allowing more people to access the drug. We celebrate this news along with our CF community in Nova Scotia, who have worked tirelessly for this day. Kelly Grover, President and CEO of Cystic Fibrosis of Canada
We are very grateful to have access to a new treatment option that is proving to be beneficial and potentially life-changing to a large number of children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Great progress has been made in this field and we hope that in the near future we will have better treatment options for all patients with cystic fibrosis. Dr. Dimas Mateos-Corral, Pediatric Researcher, IWK Health
Brief details:
- cystic fibrosis causes thick mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other parts of the body, causing persistent lung infections and loss of lung function; there is no cure
- it is estimated that one in 3,600 children born in Canada has cystic fibrosis; in Nova Scotia, an estimated 190 people have the disease
- Patients can enroll in the Provincial Cystic Fibrosis Program through their Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at the IWK
- there are currently 15 children in Nova Scotia who could benefit from this new coverage
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NOTE: The month in which neo-Scots 12 years of age or older with cystic fibrosis were eligible for province-funded Trikafta and the date Health Canada approved the use of Trikafta to treat children aged six to 11 years correct on July 18th.