Medicines used in treatment for ovarian and other cancers, plus atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS), have been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
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Olaparib, sold under the brand name Lynparza, will be expanded for eligible Australian women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer. This listing is expected to benefit around 200 women each year. Without subsidy, the medicine would cost patients more than $123,000 per course of treatment.
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cause of death from cancer among women in Australia. There is no screening program for ovarian cancer, and because symptoms can often be confused with other health conditions, many women are diagnosed with advanced disease, when the cancer has spread and can be difficult to treat.
According to Victoria's service Better Health, risk factors may include increasing age, obesity, medical conditions such as endometriosis and a family history of ovarian, breast or colon cancer.
Acalabrutini, sold as Calquence, will be used for patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
These diseases are slow-growing, rare blood cancers of the bloodstream and lymph nodes and tissues, respectively. About 1000 people are diagnosed with CLL and 300 with SLL each year in Australia.
In 2022, more than 900 patients accessed a comparable treatment through the PBS. Without subsidy, patients might pay around $96,700 per year of treatment.
Ravulizumab, traded as Ultomiris, has been added to treat patients with aHUS, a very rare genetic disease where the body's defence system attacks vital organs, blood cells and blood vessels. This can cause blood clots to form in small blood vessels, blocking blood flow to vital organs and especially to the kidneys.
Around 120 patients each year are expected to benefit from this listing. Without subsidy, patients would pay around $384,800 per year of treatment.
For those with children under their care, Lumacaftor with ivacaftor (traded as Orkambi) has been added for treatment of one-year-old infants with cystic fibrosis for the F508del mutation.
More than 2500 babies in Australia are born with cystic fibrosis and there is no known cure. About 30 infants are expected to benefit from this addition, whose families would otherwise need to pay abound $232,300 each year for treatment.
Upon announcing these particular medicines being added to the list, federal health minister Mark Butler said the government is committed to making medicines cheaper and more affordable for all Australians.
"These life-changing listings will have a profound impact on people's lives - and the lives of the people around them.
"Alongside cheaper prescriptions, 60-day scripts and encouraging more doctors to bulk bill, we are making health care more affordable and easing the cost of living burden for everyday Australians."
But the copayment going by $1.60 to $31.60 for general patients and up by 40 cents to $7.70 for concessional card holders, sparking outrage from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, which is campaigning to reduce the maximum co-payment for PBS medicines to $19.
