Imbruvica onto PBS

THE government has added Imbruvica to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for the treatment of Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL).

It’s the first medication to show a significant clinical benefit for the condition, with pharmacists said to have a key role in connection with the listing because it requires a “new commitment to adherence over the long term for patients who previously relied on intensive chemotherapy-based treatment regimens,” according to Associate Professor Constantine Tam from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

“Community pharmacists are ideally placed to support Imbruvica patients by encouraging adherence and identifying missed doses, whether intentional or otherwise,” said Professor Tam, who is also Director of Haematology at St Vincents Hospital Melbourne.

He said pharmacists would also have an important role to play in ensuring continuity of treatment for the more than 300 Australian patients with relapsed or refractory MCL who have received special access to the therapy, under a progam designed to provide those most in need with the therapy prior to reimbursement.

Imbruvica will be added to the PBS for MCL on 01 Aug 2018.

The therapy is already PBS-listed for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) or Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL) who are unsuitable for treatment with a purine analogue.