People suffering from life-threatening autoimmune diseases and neurological disorders can now get the treatment and medication they need from the comfort of their own home.

Dr. Sohail Masood, founder and chief executive of infusion therapy firm KabaFusion in Cerritos, said his business is likely to grow as treatments utilizing intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) become more commonplace

“A lot of different diseases that have been historically untreatable, such as Hepatitis C, are now treatable,” said Masood, who was nominated last month for an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the L.A. region. “But these specialty drugs are very expensive. Until generics are available, which may take 10 to 15 years, specialty pharmacy is going to continue to grow, and the problem for payers will be how to manage the costs.”

KabaFusion’s certified pharmacists and nurses travel to patients’ homes and administer plasma-based medication to treat Hepatitis C, HIV, abnormal blood clots, and other ailments. It is also an accredited specialty pharmacy, meaning its employees can dispense expensive medications that often have special handling, storage, and distribution requirements.

Such pharmacies dispensed about $98 billion in drugs last year, according to Philadelphia research and consulting firm Pembroke Consulting Inc.

While most of California’s 23 accredited specialty pharmacies act only as dispensaries, KabaFusion’s in-home services set it apart, Masood said. The expensive IVIG treatments account for about 90 percent of the company’s revenue and allows KabaFusion to keep profit margins around 40 percent compared with the roughly 8 percent margin common among specialty pharmacies.

– Carter Stoddard