B.C. Health Ministry restores drug funding for girl with rare disease

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Health Minister Josie Osborne says she has reinstated funding for a nine-year-old girl who has an extremely rare disease.

Charleigh Pollock has Batten disease, and the drug Brineura costs around $1 million a year.

Osborne says she spoke with the girl’s family tonight and told them that the funding would be available “for as long as the treating physician and the family deem it appropriate.”

Osborne says she believes health professionals should make decisions about care, and a letter she received from Batten disease experts in the United States detailed a “significant disagreement.”

The minister says the Vancouver Island girl and her family should not suffer because of the disagreement over the drug.

The government had cut off the funding last month, saying an expert committee determined that the drug was no longer helping to slow the progress of the girl’s disease.

Pollock is the only person in B.C. to have the disease and one of about 20 in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.

The Canadian Press