Australia to list new lung cancer and cholesterol drugs on PBS

Two major new listings on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) have the potential to extend the lives of Australians with advanced lung cancer and those at risk of a heart attack, saving patients up to nearly A$190,000 ($135,714) a year.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and from November 1 patients with advanced lung cancer will have the treatment Keytruda (pembrolizumab) from Merck &Co (NYSE: MRK) subsidized for first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Without PBS subsidy it would cost over A$11,300 per script or A$188,000 a year. Patient will now pay a maximum of A$39.50 per script or just A$6.40 per script for concessional patients, including pensioners.

Keytruda is an immunotherapy medicine working with a patient’s own immune system to recognise cancer cells and destroy them. Clinical trials of Keytruda for lung cancer has shown that some patients became virtually cancer free after treatment. This medicine is already listed on the PBS for classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma and unresectable Stage III or Stage IV malignant melanoma.

Also listing Amgen’s Repatha

The Liberal National Government is also listing Repatha (pembrolizumab) from Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) from November 1 for the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia, which is a genetic high cholesterol condition.

More than 6,000 people with the condition, who are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke at an early age, will benefit from the treatment.

Patients would normally pay around A$630 a script, or more than A$8,000 a year. With its listing on the PBS, eligible patients will pay a maximum of A$39.50 per script for Repatha or just A$6.40 with a concession card.

These listings with help the thousands of Australians and their families fighting lung cancer and the devastating impact of heart disease, according to a health department satement.

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