Need some help

[Wildewolfe]

I have a friend with very serious MS. His last real hope is a drug called Tysabri.

His insurance won't pay for it, medicare part b is trying to not pay for it and the costs per year are more than his family makes, yet the drug company says they make too much money to assist them.

If you have ANY resources that I could refer him to please PM me, email me, shout here.... just let me know please.

He's a great person in a hard spot.

Thank you in advance for any help.

[EFerrari]

1. PM me and let me know what county he's in so I can poke around

on Monday.

:hi:

[tkmorris]

2. No help here

This isn't really my thing. I'll ask around but......

However I CAN kick this up for ya. Good luck friend.

:kick:

[uppityperson]

3. don't know but will kick this. What state?

[Wildewolfe]

7. He's in Texas... austin area

[tkmorris]

4. I did see this on the Elan website

Elan is the manufacturer of Tysabri.

"To achieve this goal, programs have been developed to assist patients who are uninsured or who require financial assistance. Patients who require financial assistance can receive more information by calling MS ActiveSource at 1-800-456-2255."

I assume that you probably have been in touch with them already but just in case this is a recent addition or whatever I thought I'd mention it.

[Wildewolfe]

8. He's already talked with them...

...they say he makes too much money. Realize the cost of this med per year is more than their annual gross income so how he makes too much money is beyond me.

[Hepburn]

5. K&R

I have no info to help ~~ but I gave you the 4th vote for the Greatest Page.

Good luck ~~ and sending good thoughts to both you and your friend. This is very nice of you to help someone in a tight spot.

[Suich]

6. Kick

:kick:

[Mnemosyne]

9. No answers, but a kick for luck. n/t

[uppityperson]

10. am sure friend saw the warning? more links and ideas.

I did a quick search on cannot afford medication help and found a bunch of random websites with links to other places and ideas. Here are a few:

AARP might have something. Looks like Texas has a kidney program, but might poke around there more and look. http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/prescription/statebystate.html

Here is an interesting website I found with links to other programs. http://www.kybaptist.org/kbc/welcome.nsf/pages/annuityrelief

Patient assistance programs are run by pharmaceutical companies to provide free medications to people who cannot afford to buy their medicine. RxAssist offers a comprehensive database of these patient assistance programs, as well as practical tools, news, and articles so that health care professionals and patients can find the information they need. All in one place. http://www.rxassist.org/

I know that you said it costs more than they make a yr so this wouldn't work, but it might eventually help if they can find a lower cost place. Look into pill splitting, buy pill of double dose, then split in 1/2 to take as this is usually much cheaper. More info from another webpage. http://depression.about.com/cs/drugindex/ht/Pill_Splitting.htm

ttp://www.tysabri.com/
WARNING

TYSABRI® increases the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), an opportunistic viral infection of the brain that usually leads to death or severe disability. Although the cases of PML were limited to patients with recent or concomitant exposure to immunomodulators or immunosuppressants, there were too few cases to rule out the possibility that PML may occur with TYSABRI® monotherapy.

* Because of the risk of PML, TYSABRI® is available only through a special restricted distribution program called the TOUCH™ Prescribing Program. Under the TOUCH™ Prescribing Program, only prescribers, infusion centers, and pharmacies associated with infusion centers registered with the program are able to prescribe, distribute, or infuse the product. In addition, TYSABRI® must be administered only to patients who are enrolled in and meet all the conditions of the TOUCH™ Prescribing Program (see WARNINGS, Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy; and WARNINGS, Prescribing, Distribution, and Administration Program for TYSABRI®).
* Healthcare professionals should monitor patients on TYSABRI® for any new sign or symptom that may be suggestive of PML. TYSABRI® dosing should be withheld immediately at the first sign or symptom suggestive of PML. For diagnosis, an evaluation that includes a gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain and, when indicated, cerebrospinal fluid analysis for JC viral DNA are recommended (see CONTRAINDICATIONS and WARNINGS, Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy).

[Wildewolfe]

11. Yeah he knows the risks...

... and they are significant... but it's about the only thing left to him. As for pill splitting that is a neat idea I will remember for the future... unfortunetly for this drug it won't work since it is infusion(IV) only.