15 April 2018
$200k cancer drug now costing $6.40
Great news today with the announcement from the Minister for Health the
Honourable Greg Hunt MP that Keytruda will be listed on the PBS from the
1st of May for relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. There
has been great collaboration from many parties including patients and
their families to make this happen!
L-R: Raj Gauba- Haematology MSD; Federal Health Minister Hon Greg Hunt MP; Sharon Millman- CEO Lymphoma Australia, Dr Michael Dickinson- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Patients battling Hodgkin Lymphoma will have cheaper access from 1 May 2018 to a lifesaving cancer drug that previously cost $200,000.
While 85 per cent of Hodgkin lymphoma sufferers are cured with
chemotherapy, patients who relapse or those who cannot undergo normal
chemotherapy are prescribed the immunotherapy medicine Keytruda.
From
May, patients will pay a maximum of $39.50 per script, with patients
eligible for a concession paying just $6.40, after the federal government approved the drug for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidy.
Chief executive of Lymphoma Australia Sharon Millman said patients
who didn’t respond to chemotherapy didn’t have a lot of options.
“Now patients can focus on beating cancer and not worry about how they are going to pay (for the drugs),” she said.
“This will give many patients the hope of recovery.
“A lot of patients are really excited.”
More details:
Channel 7 News interview
Channel 10 News
Nine News
Link to Immunotherapy information: Click Here
Read the Herald Sun article here: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/sick-patients-offered-cheap-access-to-lifesaving-cancer-drug/news-story/68ac9c0adbcb37797ff2de57f8a7ea3d?login=1
News.com.au: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/hodgkins-lymphoma-treatment-now-available-for-40/news-story/156c340c788016c4f1c706921a4f9bc0
Minister's Office Media Release
Category: News
Tags: keytruda
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