THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Haemophilia patients and their families have welcomed the latest recommendations of the Haemophilia and Health Collective of North (HHCN) to prepare a national guideline for the treatment of Persons with Haemophilia (PwH).
The recommendations released on Thursday suggest products like Emicizumab to manage the inherited blood disorder. The new drug will benefit patients facing difficulty in managing bleeding, and children aged below 5 who have difficult venous access, said Jimmy Manual, regional council chairman of the Haemophilia Federation of India (HFI).
Though the state has already started giving monoclonal modified immunoglobulin such as Emicizumab, HFI believes incorporation of the drug in the treatment guideline will help in expanding its access.
“HFI is advocating for lowering the drug’s price and also urging the National Health Mission to make the necessary purchase. The drugs have been used by developed countries as prophylaxis,” Manual said.
A health department official said the state is trying to provide a customised treatment plan to patients in line with the change in treatment modalities.
The government programme has discouraged indiscriminate use of clotting factors. Wide use of the clotting factor could lead to the generation of antibodies and treatment with antibody-bypassing drug is costlier, said the officer. Kerala has over 2,000 haemophilia patients.