New Turning Points hep C program offers ‘cure drug’ for free
Despite all that medical scientists know about it and how it is transmitted, the liver disease hepatitis C still carries mystery.
“We know it can be passed through shared needles or blood transfusions or getting tattooed with unclean needles, but people do get it with no apparent connection to what we now know causes it,” said Ronald J. Cirillo, MD, medical director of Turning Points, Bradenton’s one-stop center for the medically needy at 701 17th Ave. W., Bradenton.
“There is just a lot about hep C we don’t know and we would love to know,” Cirillo added.
Officials at Gilead Sciences, Inc., manufacturer of Harvoni, a drug that has produced high cure rates for hepatitis C, apparently think that Cirillo, with the help of Turning Points clients, might be able to uncover heretofore unknown causes of hepatitis C.
Harvoni wasn’t around until recently and a lot of people with hepatitis C were on chronic interferon, which is a very toxic drug. So, it is very good that Dr. Cirillo is providing the opportunity for these people to potentially be cured with this drug which, otherwise, they would have no access to. Even people with insurance have a hard time getting access due to the expense of the drug.
LECOM student Anthony Philips
Gilead has agreed to take part in a large-scale hepatitis C research and treatment project to start immediately at Turning Points, Cirillo announced Monday.
The hepatitis research, which will go on for an unspecified time, will be compiled by a group of students from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and will eventually be published in a scientific journal, Cirillo added.
“I really believe that, right here in Bradenton, we can discover new information about hepatitis C,” Cirillo said
Gilead is footing the bill for free hepatitis C testing for all Turning Points qualified clients via the OraQuick finger stick test, Cirillo said.
If the finger stick test shows positive for hepatitis C and a more traditional backup test confirms it, the client could elect to receive free daily doses of Harvoni, the first once-daily single tablet regimen for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in adults, Cirillo said.
In clinical studies, 96 to 99 percent of patients with hepatitis C genotype 1 who had no prior treatment were cured by taking Harvoni daily for 12 weeks, Cirillo added.
The 12-week Harvoni regimen usually costs about $90,000, said Adell Erozer, executive director at Turning Points.
“We are the only free clinic in the state of Florida with this program,” said Margi Dawson, a Turning Points spokeswoman.
The free hep C program is only open to Manatee County residents who do not have health insurance and who have an income of no more than 200 percent of the average median income set by the federal poverty guidelines and also qualify for Turning Points’ pharmaceutical assistance program, which has its own criteria, Erozer added.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for people to come in, get tested and then find out if they actually have it and, if they do, what are their options for treatment,” Erozer said.
What the clients will be asked
Cirillo is enlisting the help of dozens of students from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, who volunteer at Turning Points, to help with the project.
One group of LECOM students will ask patients they see daily for regular medical checkups if they are willing to anonymously share their life stories and have a finger stick for hepatitis research and possible treatment, Cirillo said.
Another group of LECOM students will crunch the data collected from the willing client’s tests and outcome results and life stories to try to see if there are connections to hepatitis C that show up over and over, Cirillo added.
While Turning Points clients don’t have to take part in the research to get the free hepatitis C testing and treatments, Cirillo said that most will be eager to do so given that they will remain anonymous.
The students, who were hearing about it for the first time Monday, expressed excitement about the chance to help patients and take part in a full-fledged research project.
“Harvoni wasn’t around until recently and a lot of people with hepatitis C were on chronic interferon, which is a very toxic drug,” said fourth-year LECOM student Anthony Philips, who will be one of the patient interviewers for the project. “So, it is very good that Doctor Cirillo is providing the opportunity for these people to potentially be cured with this drug which, otherwise, they would have no access to. Even people with insurance have a hard time getting access due to the expense of the drug.”
To be part of the hepatitis C program or for more information, call 941-567-6156.
This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 6:53 PM with the headline "New Turning Points hep C program offers ‘cure drug’ for free."