Australia Expands PBS Subsidy for Keytruda to Cover Ovarian, Bile Duct and Merkel Cell Cancers
核心洞察
Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (搜索) will subsidise pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for advanced ovarian, bile duct and Merkel cell carcinoma (搜索) from Tuesday, benefiting about 700 patients annually.
Eligible patients will pay $25 per prescription instead of approximately $14,800 without the PBS subsidy, with concession card holders paying a maximum of $7.70.
Keytruda will also be listed in combination with enfortumab vedotin (Padcev) for stage 3 or 4 urothelial cancer (搜索), expected to benefit more than 490 Australians each year.
Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (搜索) (PBS) will subsidise the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, sold as Keytruda, for several additional advanced cancers from Tuesday, marking a major expansion of access to one of the world's leading cancer treatments.
From this week, Keytruda will be available under a new multi-cancer listing for additional advanced cancers including ovarian cancer (搜索), bile duct cancer (搜索) and the rare skin cancer Merkel cell carcinoma (搜索). Until now, access to the drug through the PBS has depended on separate assessments for each cancer indication. About 700 Australians a year are expected to gain from the expanded listing, with eligible patients paying $25 per prescription instead of about $14,800 without the PBS subsidy.
The government will also subsidise Keytruda in combination with enfortumab vedotin, sold as Padcev, for patients with stage 3 or 4 urothelial cancer (搜索), an advanced form of bladder cancer. More than 490 Australians are expected to benefit from that listing each year, with the PBS reducing the cost from as much as $4800 per script to $25.
General patients with a Medicare card pay a maximum of $25 per prescription for drugs listed under the scheme, while Commonwealth concession card holders pay a maximum of $7.70.
How Keytruda Works
Keytruda works by blocking a pathway used by cancer cells to evade the immune system, allowing the body to recognise and attack the cancer. The drug is already subsidised to treat more than a dozen cancers.
The federal government previously expanded the scope of Keytruda in March, listing it on the scheme for use in treating high-risk, locally-advanced cervical cancer, renal cell carcinoma in high-risk patients, and locally-advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Patient Impact
For 64-year-old Jenelle Seaman, cancer has become an unwelcome constant in a life spent teaching teenagers science and mathematics. Diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer (搜索) in 2010, Seaman has undergone 58 cycles of chemotherapy, major surgery and countless scans. The disease has returned eight times over 16 years.
Seaman's cancer first returned in 2014 and has since come back seven more times, despite dozens of rounds of different chemotherapy treatments. In 2021, her cancer stopped responding to treatment and spread to lymph nodes near her pancreas, leading to invasive surgery and a six-week hospital stay during the COVID pandemic.
"It's not just the cancer. Most people will never understand the emotional strain, physical toll and financial burden that comes along with it," she said.
Seaman, who has become an advocate for cancer patients and regularly speaks at oncology conferences, said the prospect of a new treatment offered hope after years of chemotherapy. "I marvel at the idea of a medicine harnessing someone's own immune system to fight their cancer," she said. "Access to a new therapy is a great source of hope for me and no doubt many other women battling ovarian cancer (搜索)."
Gold Coast resident Steve Holmes was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (搜索), a rare and aggressive form of bile duct cancer (搜索), in 2016 — two years after his brother Graeme died from the same cancer. The only treatment option presented to Mr Holmes at the time was surgery. While it was successful, he suffered a ruptured artery a month later, and a further blow five months later when he learned the cancer had returned aggressively, spreading through his liver and lungs.
Faced with a prognosis of just a few weeks, oncologist Matthew Burge established Mr Holmes would be a good candidate for an international trial involving Keytruda. "I feel like I have a second chance at life and need to make the most of it," he said.
Clinician Response
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (搜索) and Epworth Healthcare (搜索) medical oncologist Sumitra Ananda said the expanded listing was an important moment that afforded doctors the discretion to make evidence-based treatment decisions.
"Today's announcement will help make this immunotherapy treatment option more affordable and potentially remove the financial burden that patients with advanced or metastatic cancer may face," Associate Professor Ananda said.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the expansion would give more Australians access to one of the world's leading cancer treatments. "This expanded PBS listing of Keytruda to cover multiple cancers will mean thousands more Australian patients can get the treatment they need faster and at an affordable price," he said.