December 18, 2018

Cyprus – Immunoglobulin supply issues

Cypriot patients have faced several issues with access to their regular immunoglobulin replacement (IG) therapy in the past few months. Our National Member Organisation (NMO) in Cyprus was informed of individual patient difficulties such as no availability of a specific product and patients being given an immunoglobulin dose inferior to their individual needs for protection against infection. Last September IPOPI provided the local NMO with a support letter and, in cooperation with the National Alliance for Rare Disorders, they took action by sending letters to the Manager of Pharmaceutical Services, to the Ministry of Health, to General Manager of Medical Services and had a Press Release about the lack of Immunoglobulins to several media.

Just one month after IPOPI was made aware by the Cypriot NMO that a patient, only one in the country on a specific product, was no longer receiving treatment, IPOPI reached out to the Plasma Proteins Therapeutics Association (PPTA) who provided further help to solve the issue, allowing the patient to be now back on IG replacement therapy.

Cyprus is a small country with just over one million inhabitants so the rarity of some forms of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) is very evident and specific immunoglobulin products are sometimes used by a single patient in the whole country.