Cystic fibrosis: an innovative treatment must be generalized to children in France
The Minister of Health, François Braun, at the origin of the announcement on the expansion of an innovative treatment against cystic fibrosis.
AFP - TERESA SUAREZ
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Until now reserved for patients aged twelve and over and certain children aged six to eleven, Kaftrio, a treatment presented as having extraordinary results against cystic fibrosis, will now be accessible to all children over the age of six. without any particular condition.
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“
The order is ready and should be published in the coming days
: Kaftrio, a hitherto experimental treatment, will be generalized for children with cystic fibrosis
”.
The announcement made by the Minister of Health, François Braun, in an interview given to the
Journal du Dimanche on
Saturday, could change many things for the little ones concerned.
Authorized in France for a year for people over the age of twelve, the use of this treatment was then extended in March 2022 to children aged six to eleven, but under certain conditions.
Conditions now lifted, all children of this age and over will therefore be able to benefit from it, there are 5,500.
The promise of new hope!
🟢 Kaftrio, an innovative treatment against cystic fibrosis, will be generalized in France for children.
It was previously available only to patients aged twelve and over.
All information ➡️ https://t.co/rZzTWYPiFg pic.twitter.com/BgM4sN0Yem
– Government (@gouvernementFR) December 19, 2022
The Kaftrio, from its name, is presented "
as having extraordinary results
" by the associations.
Until now, treatments for cystic fibrosis have focused on treating the symptoms of the disease.
Medication and physiotherapy sessions relieved patients' airways obstructed by abnormally thick and viscous mucus.
The Kaftrio targets the causes by acting on this viscosity with very good results.
700 new patients can be treated
Delivered in the form of tablets for life, this triple therapy (a combination of three molecules) clearly reduces the effects of the disease, in particular particularly disabling lung conditions.
A marketing authorization was issued in August 2020 in the European Union.
This announcement was greeted with "
a feeling of relief
", said David Fiant, president of the Vaincre la Mucoviscidose association, in a press release on Saturday.
In France,
"
thanks to this marketing authorization extension, more than 700 new patients will be able to benefit from this innovative therapy
", indicates the association: in all, during the first quarter of 2023, "
this will be nearly
5,000 people with cystic fibrosis
” who will thus have access to Kaftrio.
For them, the hope is great: until recently, cystic fibrosis was considered fatal for the youngest and if the therapeutic methods in force until then had made it possible to obtain progress, the burden of the disease remained very heavy. .
Make cystic fibrosis a chronic and stable pathology
The arrival of Kaftrio is therefore a real step forward with now the possibility of transforming cystic fibrosis into a chronic and stable pathology.
This is what motivated the high health authority to authorize it: this treatment allows patients to breathe better, to be sick less often and to regain weight.
However, it is not suitable for all patients.
"Nearly 35% of patients with cystic fibrosis are still waiting for a therapeutic innovation, allowing them to improve their quality of life on a daily basis"
, recalls Vaincre la Mucoviscidose.
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(With AFP)
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