A medical worker takes care of patients at K Hospital, the central specialised hospital for cancer patients, in Hanoi. Different drugs for cancer patients ran out, putting them under pressure. (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – A nine month shortage of Glivec
produced by the – AG Company
(Switzerland) has eased for hundreds of patients following a
Government move to allow hospitals to stock the pharmaceutical product using
old import dossiers.
The drugs are used by patients
suffering from cancer, including chronic
myelogenous leukemia and gastro-intestinal stromal tumours.
However, according to hospitals,
the stock of donated Glivec and Tasigna ran out in December, putting cancer
patients under pressure.
The was due to
Resolution No. 54 issued in May last year which said that permits for the
importation of medicines under humanitarian aid programmes must be completed in
a special manner.
Novartis recently said in a
petition to the ministry that it faced many obstacles preparing and completing
the dossiers called for in Resolution No. 54. This brought the importation of
Glivec to Vietnam to a halt.
This included a Certificate of
Pharmaceutical Product (CPP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), ASEAN Common
Technical Dossier (ACTD), proposed labels and actual circulation labels in the
host countries.
Phu Chi Dung, director of HCM
City Hospital of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, said a
resolution passed on January 12 approved the use of the drug at four hospitals
– the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Cho Ray
Hosptial, HCM City Oncology Hospital and HCM City Hospital of Haematology and
Blood Transfusion.
“The resolution has lifted up
cancer treatment at hospitals. We are completing procedures
to stock Glivec and expect to receive it in one week,” said Dung.
A programme to assist patients by
distributing two types of cancer medicines, Glivec 100mg and Tasigna 200mg, was
implemented by Novartis in 2015 at seven medical facilities – the National
Cancer Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, Hue Central Hospital, the
National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Cho Ray
Hospital, HCM City Oncology Hospital and HCM City Hospital of Haematology and
Blood Transfusion.
Cancer patients who participate
in social insurance for more than 36 months can take part in a Patient
Assistance Programme in which the social insurance fund pays 40 percent of the
Glivec or Tasigna costs and the rest is sponsored by Novartis. Those who
participate for less than 36 months, will have the cost of the drugs fully
funded by the company.
The lowest dose of Glivec prescribed
by doctors is two tablets a day, while the highest dose is eight tablets a day.
The price of commercial in HCM City is 442,000 VND (19.4 USD) per
tablet. If a patient is resistant to or intolerant of Glivec, a doctor may
provide a treatment with two tablets of Tasigna a day. The price of commercial
Tasigna in HCM City is 707,000 VND (31 USD) per a tablet.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
