Wait for ‘miracle drug’ drags on
Patients still waiting a year after lung cancer funding bid
Hhealth undreds of lung cancer patients whose lives could be saved by a treatment labelled a “miracle drug” are still waiting for a funding decision a year after it was first sought.
Last February Pharmac was asked to fund immunotherapy drug Keytruda to be used as an initial treatment for people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and a high level of the protein PD-L1.
In May, Pharmac’s pharmacology and therapeutics advisory committee deferred the decision on whether to fund the drug for lung cancer. It was considered again in November. Lung cancer patient Jason Guttenbeil says it is disappointing the funding decision for Keytruda as an initial treatment for lung cancer has been deferred again.
The 45-year-old father of four was given six to nine months to live when he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in May and says he would not still be here were it not for Keytruda. Two rounds of chemotherapy did nothing so his family saved and fundraised to try the new immunotherapy drug.
Within six weeks his tumour had halved in size. Since then it had been a case of one step forward, two steps back but he still had hope.
Despite his own struggles he has been pushing for the drug to be funded so everyone has a chance to get the extra time he has had.
Guttenbeil said he has spoken to a number of other lung cancer patients who were seeing great results and believes there is more than enough evidence to see it approved for first-line funding.
The earlier lung cancer got detected and the sooner a person could start treatment with Keytruda, the better their chances, he said.