(ANSA) – BOLOGNA, 03 OCTOBER – Aifa and the Ministry of Health are working to make the preventative drug for syncytial virus respiratory infections available in band A, paid for by the National Health Service, but the Regions are pressing: we need to act quickly, because the epidemic phase is now around the corner and at present there are no doses for everyone, with the risk of once again creating a scenario of “serious inequality” on the national territory, with regions that have the drug available for a universal campaign and regions that are unable to protect even fragile patients”.
The alarm on the availability of the monoclonal antibody Nirsevimab-Beyfortus comes from a letter sent on September 30, but made public today, to the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, and to the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) signed by Raffaele Donini, councilor Emilia-Romagna, as coordinator of the Health Commission of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces. At the moment, one of the most credible hypotheses would be to include the drug in the immunization calendar. This would allow all children to access the product for free. But now time is running out and the Regions are asking for a quick solution.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can lead to severe cases of bronchiolitis in newborns. Every year, it causes the death of approximately 100,000 children under the age of 5 worldwide. A turning point is represented by the monoclonal antibody which has proven to be able to prevent 90% of hospitalizations and which the ministry has announced it wants to make available free of charge in all regions for the treatment of newborns. This news arrived after a previous circular – which raised a storm – which alerted the Regions in the recovery plan (Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Calabria, Puglia, Sicily), essentially the South, on the opportunity to independently guarantee the administration of the drug.
To date, however, the Regions are once again pressing Aifa and the ministry, especially considering that the epidemic phase – October-March – is practically opening. Donini reports that “to date, many of the regional tenders carried out for the purchase of Nirvesimab have been abandoned because the company declares the unavailability of the drug for universal coverage” and this determines “a scenario of serious inequality on the national territory” . Faced with these “urgent situations”, the Regions ask to “evaluate the activation of an accelerated negotiation by AIFA for the inclusion of the drug in Band A, thus making it accessible to all Regions”. And if this is not possible, they ask to provide for the possibility of attributing “reimbursability to class C drugs purchased by NHS bodies for public health needs”. (HANDLE).
2024-10-05 07:45:10