SASKATOON -- Some in Saskatchewan who live with Crohn's and colitis are wondering what the future holds for their medications.
Earlier this year health officials in B.C. changed the medications they fund for the inflammatory bowel diseases, a move followed by Alberta this past fall.
That means patients with Crohn's and colitis in those provinces will have to switch from their current treatments to new medications which could have unpredictable effects.
The trend is worrying for some in Saskatchewan, including Ryan Heistad who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease four years ago.
"One medication may work well for someone and for someone (else) not so much. In my case, I tried one biologic and I was on it for a few weeks and it did not work for me. I was forced to try another one and luckily that one has worked for me for the last three years. There is no telling what will work and what will not and there's already limited options for these medications."
B.C. and Alberta are switching from medications known as biologics to drugs called biosimilars.
"It's called a biosimilar because it's similar to the biologic, but it's not the same or it would be called a generic. They come in at a much-reduced cost and are safe and effective treatments for bio-naïve patients, but not for non-medical switching," said Mina Mawani, president of Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Mawani said her association has been in contact with the makers of the existing biologics and they tell her they are prepared to price match with the biosimilars so that price isn't an issue.
Heistad is also the president of the Saskatoon chapter of Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
He and his cohorts are trying to get the Saskatchewan government to resist the move to follow B.C. and Alberta, and to encourage those provinces to walk back their decision, through a Canada-wide letter-writing campaign. So far 31,000 letters have been written in three months.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health told CTV News that while it's keeping tabs on what's happening in other provinces, for the time being, it's not changing its approach to coverage.
"At this time, Saskatchewan has not established a policy that would require patients using reference biologic medications to switch to a biosimilar version. It is important to note that each province makes its own decisions about what drugs to cover and the manner in which they are covered," the ministry said in a statement.
"Our government is reviewing the recent changes in Alberta and British Columbia, and will continue to watch other provinces as they consider their policies regarding coverage of biologic medications."
