authorized and reimbursed medical treatment, a first in France

2024-02-01 09:27:00

Finally a treatment. It’s a small revolution for the million French men and women affected by vitiligo. Since Wednesday, a first treatment has been authorized and reimbursed by Health Insurance. As a reminder, vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that causes progressive depigmentation of the skin. The authorized treatment concerns patients aged over 12 years affected by a “non-segmental form with facial involvement”.

The treatment concerns Opzelura cream, developed by the American laboratory Incyte Biosciences. The company employs 2,500 employees worldwide and around fifty in France. It intervenes within the framework of a so-called “direct access” system, an experimental measure included in the Social Security financing law since 2022. It makes certain medications more quickly accessible to patients.

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READ ALSO Medicines: soon QR codes to replace instructionsConcretely, a person affected by vitiligo sees their melanocytes, the cells responsible for skin pigmentation, gradually deteriorate. This then involves the appearance of white spots on the patient’s face and body.

A treatment already available across the Atlantic

The French Vitiligo Association estimates that approximately 1 to 2% of the world’s population is affected by this very visible chronic disease. In France, authorities estimate that around a million people are affected. Above all, the disease can lead to a “significant alteration in the quality of life, in relationships with others and with oneself”. Opzelura received marketing authorization valid throughout the European Union in April. In October, the High Authority for Health issued a favorable opinion for its reimbursement.

The pharmaceutical company then turned to the Ministry of Health to request direct access, that is to say without waiting for price negotiation. The tube of cream is priced at just over a thousand euros. The Opzelura treatment is already available in the United States, Germany and Austria.

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