TORONTO -- Health Minister Eric Hoskins says Ontario will review the criteria for a drug that helps patients with a rare disorder known as PKU after advocates complained no one was actually qualifying for the medication.
The drug Kuvan, which costs $70,000 a year, helps some people with PKU, an inherited, brain-threatening disorder where the body can't process an essential amino acid found in dietary protein.
John Adams, whose 28-year-old son has PKU, says Ontario agreed to cover Kuvan for some patients in 2013, but not one met the qualifications to have the drug paid for by the province.
Adams says patients must meet three medical criteria to qualify for Kuvan, but should only have to meet any one of the three standards.
The Progressive Conservatives say the minister's agreement to review the criteria for Kuvan is a good first step, but insist the system for patients to access such drugs is not working as it should.
Hoskins says if people are being denied access to Kuvan and specialists are saying the criteria could be better, he thinks it's important the province take a look at them.
