La Nación / The Ministry of Health bought expensive medication from a cancer patient

The Blinatumomab drug arrived in the country on April 27; The acquisition of the expensive medicine, which is around US$96,000, was carried out by the Ministry of Health together with a Paraguayan pharmaceutical company. José Speratti, diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, is the patient who is currently receiving said medication.

His case was known after the publication of the sales of his real estate in the city of Misiones; It was his wife, Laura Cabral, who posted on her Twitter account about the sale of her house and truck to buy the drug, but the authorities intervened, as is the case of the Public Defender’s Office, and who appealed for an injunction to the purchase of medication.

“Once we became aware of the precautionary measure, by which the purchase of the drug Blinatumomab was ordered, we proceeded to notify the Ministry of Health of such resolution, and from that moment we were in permanent contact with the minister and with Mrs. Gilda Espínola, who is an advisor to the ministry’s cabinet,” explained Laura Cabral, wife of the cancer patient to La Nación/Nación Media.

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“Then, although at the time the minister had mentioned to me in some of the phone calls that the ministry did not have the necessary resources, they would see a way with the Paraguayan pharmaceutical company to provide that medicine and that they would take care of it” , assured.

The treatment was to begin in May after the infusion of lymphocytes, which was carried out by José Speratti, the term was short, but the authorities were dynamic, so the drug arrived in the country as soon as possible.

“Last week, on April 28, the medicine entered IPS, it went directly to the central pharmacy, and from there it was already supplied to my husband for his treatment, we entered IPS on Monday, May 2, during the hours of the Late at night, several studies were first performed on him, firstly a tomography, then a central line was placed through which the medication, x-rays, laboratory studies are administered,” said Cabral.

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The patient must be given 4 cycles of Blinatumomab, which would be a total of 24 foci of said medication. The hematological patient was diagnosed in 2013 with this condition, he already had a bone marrow transplant, but after his latest studies the condition was found again in his blood, so this treatment will be effective for Speratti.

The medicine arrived in Paraguay on April 27, it took a day for what would be the Customs management, import, registration in the Dinavisa (National Directorate of Sanitary Surveillance), the terms in which the purchase procedures were made between the ministry and the pharmaceutical company, we do not know. “I don’t know if it was a purchase in cash, on credit or in installments. But if the pharmacist also put everything on her side, to make the arrangements in a timely manner, in order to be able to import the medicine as soon as possible, ”she indicated.

According to José’s wife, the medicine drip began on Thursday, May 5, exactly at 6:00 p.m., from that moment the patient is connected to the pump, the drip regulator, but without any difficulty, he moves well , conscious and lucid. No side effects so far.

“We really just want to thank all the people who made it possible for my husband to be treated with this medicine today, thanks to all the authorities, the medical staff, everyone who did their bit to make this possible, also to the pharmacist who made all the arrangements for the purchase of medicines to supply the ministry”, Laura concluded for LN/NM.

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