
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 5, 1990                   TAG: 9004041395
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

FATHER SEEKS FUNDING FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA DRUG

A Henrico County man has launched a campaign calling for state officials to agree for Medicaid funding for a costly new drug to treat schizophrenia.

Stephen Finkle and his wife, Cathy James, see hope for their son, David, in the drug approved Feb. 5 by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The drug, clozapine, is the first major anti-psychotic drug introduced in the United States in decades. It has been marketed in Europe since the 1960s.

Finkle said his son, 30, is not covered by a private health insurance policy.

But although a doctor at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals has said David might benefit from clozapine, he can't take advantage of it because it costs more than he or his family can afford.

- Associated Press

by CNB