Plan To Aid Long-time Victims Of Rare Lung Disease

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); });

2018-03-07 HKT 14:30

Share this story

facebook

  • The Alliance for Rare Diseases says people who have been buying the costly drugs for more than two years will get it free. Photo: RTHK

    The Alliance for Rare Diseases says people who have been buying the costly drugs for more than two years will get it free. Photo: RTHK

The Alliance for Rare Diseases said on Wednesday that it will launch a scheme to give drugs free to long-time sufferers of a rare lung disorder.

Around 350 people in Hong Kong suffer from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which causes irreversible decline in lung function.

The alliance, in a joint effort with a drug company, will make arrangements to deliver the drugs free for IPF patients, but only after they’ve been buying the drug – which costs up to HK$20,000 per month – for two full years.

Public hospital patients who get the drug via community pharmacies run by non-profit organisations will get an additional five months’ worth of free medication, meaning they only have to pay 19 out of 24 months before they’re given the drug free of charge.

The drug is not included in the Hospital Authority’s list of approved drugs – something that alliance president Tsang Kin-ping says makes it very difficult for patients.

Onset of IPF normally happens for people aged between 55 and 75. The survival rate after five years is around 20 percent. The drug helps slow the decline of lung function in sufferers, and lowers the mortality rate of the disease.

RECENT NEWS

China To Inject US$44 Billion Into State Banks To Boost Tech And Curb Risks

China said it will inject 300 billion yuan (US$44 billion) into state-owned banks this year to guard against systemic r... Read more

Hong Kong Regulators Expand GenAI Sandbox To Insurance, Securities And MPF Sectors

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Insurance Authority (IA), and Mandato... Read more

South Korea To Cap Crypto Exchange Ownership At 20%

South Korean regulators and lawmakers have agreed to cap major shareholder stakes in cryptocurrency exchanges at 20%, d... Read more

DBS Hong Kong Partners With Know Your Customer To Automate SME Onboarding

Know Your Customer Limited, a provider of automated business verification solutions, has partnered with DBS Hong Kong t... Read more

Hong Kong Banks Extend Loan Repayment Relief For Tai Po Fire Victims

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) have met to discuss additional su... Read more

Hong Kong And Macao Deepen Financial Cooperation With Updated Agreement

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) held a meeting on March 3 to strengt... Read more