Good news. A drug to treat bowel cancer that costs $126,000 over two years is now available through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
“More than 580 Australians a year will benefit from this listing,” said Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt.
“Without PBS subsidy, patients might pay more than $150,000 per course of treatment. From 1 August, it will be available for $41.30 per script or just $6.60 if they have a concession card.”
In 2020, bowel cancer was the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, with around 15,000 Australians diagnosed with the disease annually.
Over 5,000 lives are lost to bowel cancer each year, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in Australia.
For the first time, Keytruda (pembrolizumab) will have its listing extended on the PBS to include the treatment of unresectable or metastatic mismatch repair deficient colorectal cancer.
This is the first immunotherapy treatment available to Australians with this type of cancer, which cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to an area outside the colon/rectum.
Keytruda is part of a new class of immunotherapy medicines that help the body’s own immune system to detect and fight cancer cells. The drug is already available on the PBS for other types of cancer, including lung cancer and melanoma.
This is wonderful news. The concept of having to worry about funding your treatment when you are already dealing with the fact that you have a dangerous cancer, is to our mind cruel.
