Samuel Arthur Rhedin is a physician at SÖS and conducts research at Karolinska Institutet. He calls the new drug revolutionary and says that there are many drugs in the pipeline to treat RS viruses. Region Stockholm, like large parts of Sweden, has been hard hit by the RS virus and healthcare has had a great strain. But now the hope is that the drug can be given out to infants as early as this autumn.
The region awaits investigation
Region Stockholm is awaiting an investigation from the NT Council (Council for New Therapies), where the introduction of the new drug will be coordinated in an equal way throughout Sweden. It is there that it will be investigated whether the drug is cost-effective and, if so, what the price tag will end up at. And who will receive the drug first is also not clear.
– We are waiting for what the Medical Products Agency says, they will come up with a recommendation on which patients should be treated in the first place, says Åsa Derolf, head of the Pharmaceutical Unit in Region Stockholm.
Bernice Aronsson, pediatrician and investigator at the Medical Products Agency, sees a bright future when it comes to treatments for RS virus.
"There will be an arsenal of possibilities," she told SVT.
Alexandra's Chiavaroli daughter contracted RS virus. Here you can hear her talk about how her daughter fought for her life.