Keytruda expanded on PBS

Pembrolizumab (sold as Keytruda) will have its Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listing expanded to include treatment of three new indications, covering advanced and high-risk cancers.
 
The expansion is expected to benefit more than 10,000 patients when it comes into effect from 1 April.
 
Under the expansion, Keytruda will be listed on the PBS for high-risk, locally advanced cervical cancer, which has spread beyond the cervix, but not to the distant organs.
 
It will also be available for renal cell carcinoma in patients at intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence following surgery.
 
Its third new indication is for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which encompasses a range of malignancies, including in the oral cavity, larynx, oropharynx, and hypopharynx. 

This expands on its current PBS listing for types of breast cancer and other types of cervical cancer, meaning Keytruda now has 21 different PBS listings.
 
Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler described the expansion as an ‘incredibly exciting announcement’.
 
‘Keytruda is one of the most extraordinary drugs available in the country – it’s been saving hundreds of thousands of lives right across the globe now for a number of years,’ he said.
 
‘We’re continuing to work to see whether we can have an all-cancer listing for this terrific medicine … but in the meantime, these three new listings are going to change the lives of thousands of Australians.’
 
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