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The Federal Government of Australia will bankroll the cost of Imbruvica, as it aims to lighten up the financial load of leukemia patients in the country. Imbruvica, a tablet that helps ease the symptoms of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), costs up to $100,000 a year for each patient.
Starting Dec. 1, the cancer-fighting medicine will be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), as the government reduces its cost to $38.80 each month. On the other hand, the price of the medicine will be reduced to $6.30 per month for CLL patients who have concession cards.
According to Bill Petch of the Leukemia Foundation, around 1,500 Australians are diagnosed with CLL every year, and what Imbruvica does is block the protein that triggers the growth of cancer cells. “[The protein] affects the white blood cells that normally produce antibodies that protect the body from infections,” said Petch, adding that the Imbruvica has been proven effecting in helping sufferers prevent further infections.
The effectiveness of the cancer-fighting medicine had been reportedly tested not just in Australia but also overseas, until it was formally registered in April 2015.
Earlier this week, the price drop on Imbruvica was officially announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, saying that it is a reminder of how keenly focused the Australian government is in fighting cancer. “It is one of 1,500 new drugs costing in total $7.5 billion that we brought onto the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme since we came into office,” he announced.
Professor Stephen Mulligan of the Royal North Shore Hospital, who was intimately involved in testing Imbruvica, said the medicine could greatly help patients who had already undergone standard therapies but were not cured. He mentioned the Imbruvica has helped revolutionize the outlook for patients that were previously deemed hopeless.
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