Roche offering up to 50% discount for Interferon in Philippines

StephenW

Roche launches hepatitis B treatment access program
HEPATITIS B is a deadly disease with a high prevalence rate in the Philippines. Studies show that in the Philippines there is a hepatitis B carrier rate of 9%. This means that out of 10 Filipinos at least 1 is a carrier of the hepatitis B virus. It is estimated that more than 7.7 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B, of whom between 1.1 and 1.9 million are expected to die prematurely of cirrhosis or liver cancer. This makes chronic hepatitis B one of the most challenging infectious diseases to manage.
      There are several reasons for the high burden of hepatitis B in the country. The two main reasons are lack of awareness of the disease coupled with inability to afford the expensive treatment.
      Pharmaceutical company Roche sets to help address the problem. In line with the government’s thrust to provide easier access to medications, Roche recently launched the Pegassist Easy Access Plan for patients with hepatitis B.
      Through the Pegassist Easy Access Plan, patients with hepatitis B can have access to the peg-interferon alfa-2a hepatitis treatment medication with discounts up to as much as 50%. "The Pegassist Easy Access Plan socializes the medication discount system. This means, patients who truly cannot afford the medication will get a higher discount accordingly," said Dr. Dennis Dioko, Roche specialty business unit director.
      "For patients who are interested to see if they can qualify for discounts through the Pegassist Easy Access Plan, there are several ways to find out. First, if they are seeing a gastroenterologist, their doctor can refer them to the Hepatitis Hotline (718-7620). If they are not currently seeing a doctor, they can call the hotline directly and the hotline can refer them to a gastroenterologist nearest to them for consultation."
      According to Dr. Dioko, "After hepatitis B patients call the hotline – manned by the Hepatitis Hotline nurse – and have already been prescribed Peg interferon alfa-2a by their doctors, they will be referred to a financial assessment agency. The financial assessment agency will then conduct an evaluation of the patient to determine the discount rate applicable to the patient. Once the financial assessment has been completed, the agency will decide how much of a discount the patient is eligible to receive. Patients can receive as much as 50% off of the medication."
      The Hepatitis Hotline nurse will then inform the patient of their qualified discount rate. At this point, the nurse will also explain to the patients the details on how they can purchase their medication at the discounted rate through the plan’s official distributor.
      "In addition to providing discounts on the medication, hepatitis B patients will also be provided with free selected hepatitis B laboratory tests that would have otherwise been very expensive. Tests such as HBV DNA Testing and S-quantification are samples of laboratory tests patients can have access to through the Pegassist Easy Access Plan. The hotline can guide them accordingly on how to avail of these discounted labs," added Dr. Dioko.
      The program hopes to be able to make treatment and care available to a wider range of hepatitis B patients and give them the opportunity to get the medication they need. In addition to discounted medication and discounted laboratory tests, the hotline will also provide a nurse assistance program that will continue follow-ups on patients throughout the course of treatment. And for patients who wish to pay through credit card, they can opt to pay via staggered payments to make the payments even easier on their budgets.