Keytruda (pembrolizumab) PBS listed
for advanced form of bladder cancer
Australians battling a form of cancer which has seen no improvement in survival rates in the past 30 years may now be eligible for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidised access to a medicine that activates the body’s immune system to detect and attack tumour cells.
Oncologists and bladder cancer patients are welcoming today’s announcement by the Federal Health Minister that the cost of an immunotherapy for cancer, KEYTRUDA will be subsidised from 1 March for eligible Australians with an advanced form of cancer (known as urothelial carcinoma) that develops in the bladder and cannot be controlled by chemotherapy.
Associate Professor Andrew Weickhardt from the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre said, “This PBS listing is fantastic news. It provides doctors with an important therapy for eligible patients with advanced bladder cancer that has progressed following chemotherapy, for which there has been limited treatment options to date”.
“There have been no new subsidised therapies for advanced bladder cancer for many years. It is great news to now have an immunotherapy for cancer available and subsidised for these patients,” he said.
“This PBS subsidy is hugely important for patients, who previously had to self-fund the medicine or were unable to access it.”
More than 2,500 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in Australia each year, with the disease claiming more than 1,000 lives annually. It has a five-year survival rate of only 53 per cent, compared to 95 per cent for prostate cancer and 90 per cent for breast cancer.
“This is a big day for Australians with advanced bladder cancer,” said BEAT Bladder Cancer Australia President Adam Lynch, who lost his wife to the disease when she was just 45 years old.
“Bladder cancer is one of just two cancers in Australia for which survival rates have actually decreased over time,”he said. “Many patients and their families will be thrilled by this decision.”
From 1 March, eligible patients will pay just $40.30 (general patients) or $6.50 (concession card holders) for each three-weekly dose of KEYTRUDA.
Mr Michael Azrak, Managing Director of MSD, commended the Federal Government for listing KEYTRUDA on the PBS for advanced bladder cancer.
“Minister Hunt is a great supporter of the PBS. We applaud the Morrison Government for its commitment to making innovative medicines available to Australians, particularly in an area of such genuine medical need,” he said.
“We are committed to ensuring the full potential of immunotherapy oncology treatment is realised for Australians impacted by this cancer,” Mr Azrak concluded.
KEYTRUDA is an anti-PD1 immunotherapy oncology treatment available for the treatment of advanced forms of melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, classical Hodgkin Lymphoma and bladder cancer. The therapy is PBS listed for eligible Australians with metastatic melanoma, refractory or relapsed classical Hodgkin Lymphoma, advanced lung cancer and, from 1 March 2019, for certain patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder (urothelial) cancer following chemotherapy.
