July 25, 2025
RED FM News Desk
A prominent member of a British Columbia health committee has resigned, alleging “unnecessary political interference” after the province reversed a decision to cut off drug funding for a young girl with a rare disease.
Dr Sandra Sirrs, who chaired the subcommittee on expensive drugs, stepped down over the NDP government’s decision to restore funding for Charleigh Pollock, a 10-year-old Vancouver Island girl battling Batten disease, a degenerative brain condition.
Dr Sirrs told the Vancouver Sun that the NDP’s move to override her subcommittee’s recommendation to halt drug coverage “crossed a line.” She called it an unprecedented instance where a provincial government disregarded a unanimous recommendation against funding from all levels, including Canada’s Drug Agency.
Having served on the committee for expensive drugs for rare diseases since its inception in 2007, Dr Sirrs’s subcommittee had initially recommended discontinuing funding for Charleigh Pollock’s medication.
Last week, Health Minister Josie Osborne attributed the reversal to a “disagreement in the medical community about the effectiveness of the drug, Brineura.” However, Dr. Sirrs firmly believes the decision was purely political, driven by intense public scrutiny and pressure the government faced over the initial funding cut.
Dr Sirrs highlighted that the U.K. has already ceased coverage of Brineura for new patients. This decision followed an extensive six-year study that examined the conditions of individuals receiving the medication and found little long-term benefit. “They haven’t yet published what they found, they will in the fall, and they have decided to stop funding Brineura,” she noted, questioning the rationale behind BC’s decision.
Jori Fales, Charleigh’s mother, acknowledges that Brineura won’t extend her daughter’s life but maintains it significantly improves her current quality of life. Without the drug, Fales fears her daughter’s condition would rapidly deteriorate – a concern Dr Sirrs confirmed was considered by the committee.
Dr Sirrs also criticized Minister Osborne for what she described as misinformation regarding the government’s efforts to prevent future conflicts over drug funding.
She specifically pointed to Osborne’s call for Ottawa to immediately implement the national strategy for drugs for rare diseases, aimed at improving access to treatments for rare illnesses. Dr Sirrs countered that this strategy has already been implemented, with B.C. being the first province to sign on in 2024. Furthermore, she emphasized that Brineura is not even on the list of drugs included in this national strategy, suggesting a misrepresentation of facts.
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