New cancer, osteo, bipolar and hep C drugs added to Australia's PBS

Australians suffering from pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, osteoporosis, bipolar disorder, or hepatitis C will be among those to benefit from changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) that come into effect this week.

Changes to the PBS include:

• pancreatic extract, granules, enteric coated, (Creon Micro, from Abbott Laboratories) is now available to help patients with insufficient pancreatic enzymes to digest food, which can arise from medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer;
• degarelix, powder for injection (Firmagon, from Ferring) is now available as an alternative product for patients with prostate cancer;
• denosumab, Injection 60mg in 1 mL pre-filled syringe (Prolia, from Amgen) is now available as an alternative injectable, long-duration treatment for osteoporosis. More than 90,000 Australians are expected to use this product;
• epoetin lamda, injection (Novocrit) is now available for patients with kidney disease, where the disease causes low iron count. About 12,000 Australians who are undergoing dialysis benefit from drugs to reduce infusion-related anemia;
• ribavirin and peginterferon alfa-2a, (Pegasys RBV, from Roche) is now available to treat patients with hepatitis C. Approximately 600 Australians with hepatitis C who have relapsed in spite of treatment will benefit from access to an additional course of ribavirin with peginterferon;
• quetiapine, tablet (Seroquel, from AstraZeneca) and quetiapine, tablet (modified release) (Seroquel XR) is now available as an additional medicine for the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder. It is expected that around 1,500 Australians will benefit from this listing; and
• aetrorelix, (Cetrotide, from AEterna Zentaris) is now available to provide an alternative therapy to help patients undergoing IVF treatment.