Ontario expands coverage of latest treatment option for cystic fibrosis
The Ontario government is expanding access to Trikafta, the latest treatment option for cystic fibrosis.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli announced Saturday that coverage for the drug has been expanded to include everyone aged six and over through its publicly-funded program. The province is also changing the eligibility criteria to remove the measurement of patients’ lung function to further reduce barriers to patients accessing this life-changing treatment.
The drug can treat more than 90 per cent of Canadians living with cystic fibrosis. At list price however, Trikafta costs approximately $300,000 per patient per year.
"Our government takes very seriously the struggles that cystic fibrosis patients and their families have with the debilitating effects of this disease and we know there is hope that each new drug may deliver the promised improvement," said Fedeli.
"That’s why it is so important we are moving quickly to support these patients and make decisions based on the best evidence available."
Previously, treatment was only available to Ontarians aged 12 and over.
Ontario is now the first province to expand access to youth aged six to 11 following new recommendations by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health.
"I said a week ago, we are going to push very hard for this to be done very quickly because we believe in it and two days later, there it is," Fedeli said.
Patients with cystic fibrosis and their families should reach out to their health care team to help determine if Trikafta is the right treatment option for them.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.