This petition is to lobby the pharmaceutical company to offer the product free of charge to people living with HIV and AIDS. It is NOT about burdening the government or the tax payer with the cost. Sculptra was originally designed in France specifically for PHAs (People living with HIV and AIDS) in response to acute facial lipoatrophy (permanent loss of facial fat) due to the devastating effects of the HIV virus as well as to side effects of certain antiviral medications. The product was so successful that plastic surgeons began administering it to the general public as part of a host of other age defying treatments. In the United States, most PWAs could not afford the treatments designed for them in the first place so the pharmaceutical company began a compassionate use program whereby they provided and continue to provide the medication for free, and dermatologists trained in the application only charge the patient for the administration of the product, the cost of treatment ranging anywhere from $200 to $500 per application. The purpose of this petition is to lobby the Canadian pharmaceutical company selling Sculptra to wealthy Canadians, to offer a Compassionate Use Program comparable to the one offered by its sister company in the United States. People who have survived AIDS who have facial lipoatrophy suffer the stigma of looking like they are sick when in fact they are healthy with undetectable levels of HIV in their bloodstream, their immune systems stabilized in with relatively robust condition.

Links