where can we buy telaprevir?

[DeliaGabbazova]

We are from Kyrgyzstan, the country with GDP per capita of $2,200.  We know that telaprevir costs in the US $25,000.  In Kyrgyzstan, it is three times more expensive.  We would like to buy the medicine directly from Merck company producing it?  How can we do it?  Are there any discounts when paying cash upfront?  Thank you,

[Diana66]

Sorry to hear this Delia

Yes this treatment, if succesfull, it will result in an Undetected viral load.
The person is considered cured if the status of Undetected is maintained for another 24 weeks after the End of Treatment - EOT.

This is called SVR - Sustained Virological Response

The treatment will be for eithr 24 or 48 weeks, depending of the stage you are at at present and on the response to medication

To start with, do you know the genotype you have and the level of liver damage?

[DeliaGabbazova]

May I ask whether this treatment cured you from hepatitus C - do you get negative virus count on blood tests?  sorry, if my english is not perfectly correct, but  a direct translation from russian.

[DeliaGabbazova]

I did contact the page that Diana66 suggested,  Unfortunately,  the sponsors of that trial have informed that enrollment for the study has closed and will not be accepting new participants.

[copyman]

The phamacutical companies will not sell directly to patient. Not without a doctors prescription. This would leave them open for law suits which is the last thing they want.

Not saying you couldn't find it on the black market but you never know what you are buying. Mexico would be the place I would look to buy cheap Pharm drugs. I would not buy Telaprevir over the internet. Come to think of it I wouldn't buy any drugs over the internet. I do know people that flew to Mexico to buy prescription drugs cheap. Of course without a prescription :-)

Do you know anyone in the states or another country you could visit and treat while on a visa?

Anyway best of luck

[pooh55811]

I think Diana has given you some good information. I hope it works for you. I don't really know anything about how you could get the drugs cheaper. Actually, the drugs in the US are more expemsive than you have been told.

I do want to clarify the costs here in the US. I was on Telaprevir for 12 weeks, Interferon for 48 weeks, and Ribavirin for 48 weeks. The costs were as follows:
Telprevir:  $21,000 for 4 weeks (total for 12 weeks $63,000)
Interferon Pegasys):  $2,300 for 4 weeks (total for 48 weeks $27,600 )
Ribavirin:  $1400 for 4 weeks supply  (total for 48 weeks $16,800)

I do have good health insurance so my own personal costs were quite low for the 3 prescriptions ($70 a month for all 3). Also, no one, to my knowledge, ever pays full cost in the US. People either have insurance, or they can get help through medical assistance programs, or they can get the drugs free from the company.

I hope you can find a way to get the medications you need. Best to you and your family.

[Diana66]

Try at least http://clinicaltrials.gov and at search type Early Access Program of Telaprevir With Peginterferon and Ribavirin in Chronic Hepatitis C Subjects .  Will take you to the right page

If you are accepted into the program you should have it for free
The way it goes there you will have probably to pay the doctor something to get you in, but you should probably qualify. As for the tests, I do not understand why they are 1000 per month. You will need only Viral loads and blood counts on a regular basis.

By the way, Telaprevir is only to be taken for 12 weeks and not 6 months.

I wonder if you are not actually talking about Boceprevir

You will get no discount if you pay cash upfront, I am afraid with them it does not work this way

I would have thought that in Moscow at least pegasus and copegus will be sponsored by government and free for patients. Almost every country has that

I think that Telaprevir costs more than USD 20,000. I think it is more like USD 45,000 but I cannot confirm

[DeliaGabbazova]

Diana,

Thank you for your reply and info provided.  What is Early access program?   Are you sure it gives a right to receive it for free?  We go to Moscow to get treated, doctor's visit, lab tests, etc. - what we were offered was to pay $15,000 for a month supply  of telaprevir (compared to $20,000 6-month supply in the US) and 350 euro for each shot of pegasus, in addition to monthly lab tests of $1,000, plus copegus, and other supporing medications.  I have an impression that hepatitus C is a desease for rich people.  We are willing to pay some money, just do not want to overpay.  That's why I am trying to find way to buy directly from pharmaceutical company, maybe with some discount if paying cash up front and considerating the fact that we come from a country with GDP per capita of $2,200.  

[DeliaGabbazova]

No results found for http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT01508286?show_locs=Y#locn.

[can-do-man]

Well quayle Australia is kind of behind times don't you think as its been approved here going on 2 years, between that and all the trials we had here a lot of people are now SVR and maybe still alive. And for your information people here that meets the need can get it for free saving them $5.80 a month.

[quayle]

It's too bad you don't live in Australia our Goverment just approved it for genome tpye 1a 1b on our PBS and when it goes through it will cost $5.80 a month,sorry to all those US citizens who have no public health system.

[Diana66]

Hi Delia

Telaprevir is not produced by Merck

Merk has the Boceprevir

Telaprevir , marketed under the brand names Incivek and Incivo, is  co-developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson

In some countries is beink marketed by Janssen-Cilag International , which is a subsidiary of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company

I am not sure what the conditions are these days for the countries under the old Russian Federation and what right do you have and treat yourself in Russia for example but there is an Early access program which if you get into will give you access to Telaprevir for free

In the Russian Federation it is run in:

Ekaterinbourg, Russian Federation
Moscow, Russian Federation
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation
Samara, Russian Federation
Stavropol, Russian Federation
Tyumen, Russian Federation

You can read more here
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT01508286?show_locs=Y#locn

P.S. Even if you manage to buy it from source first make sure that you actually can get it into your country as it might not be allowed. Last think you want is to pay those money and to have it stopped to custom

I can only suggest that you also check with your doctor if you can do anything through the Ministry of Health in your country