Key findings
- A total of 11,216 patient PBS initial prescriptions for hepatitis C direct acting antiviral (DAA) were processed for reimbursement during March to May 2016.
- Based on extrapolation of wholesale data to PBS reimbursement data, to account for the time lag in reporting, an estimated 17,870 (range: 15,100 – 20,700) individuals initiated DAA treatment during March to May 2016, equating 8% (range: 7 – 9%) of total individuals living with chronic hepatitis C in Australia.
- Most individuals (79%) were prescribed under the General Schedule (S85). The most commonly prescribed regimen was sofosbuvir/ledipasvir for 58%, followed by sofosbuvir/ daclatasvir for 38%.
- Based on PBS reimbursement data in March, 63% of prescriptions were for men and 37% for women.
- Almost half (48%) of prescriptions were among individuals 51 – 60 years.
