Media Release
For media queries, please contact media@leukaemia.org.au New PBS listing vital to Australians living with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) Leukaemia Foundation CEO Mr Bill Petch has today supported the Health Minister Mr Greg Hunt’s Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (PBS) listing announcement of midostaurin (Rydapt®), a targeted therapy that is considered to be an important advancement in the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) in 25 years. Mr Petch joined industry leaders at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne to announce midostaurin would be accessible through the PBS from December 1 for newly diagnosed Australian adults with AML who hold the FLT3-gene mutation.
The new treatment would be used as a first line therapy in combination with chemotherapy as well as a stand-alone single agent maintenance in patients responding to initial therapy. The drug has been available to some patients in Australia for more than 12 months, through a special access program. Today’s listing ensures the treatment would be more widely accessible. AML is a rare and aggressive blood cancer that progresses rapidly and is frequently fatal, with a five-year survival rate of just 24 per cent. Around 1000 people are diagnosed with AML in Australia each year. Mr Petch said new precision medicines like midostaurin could contribute to a future where Australians no longer died from blood cancers.
“This is a much needed and long-awaited step forward for AML patients. Having affordable access to these treatments through the PBS is vital for improving their quality of life and ultimately surviving their blood cancer,” he said. “We look forward to seeing more PBS listings of these new generation targeted therapies to ensure Australians diagnosed with a blood cancer have affordable access to these treatments as quickly as possible.” The Leukaemia Foundation provides free practical and emotional support to Australian’s diagnosed with a blood cancer including AML. The Foundation produces a series of disease specific newsletters including AML News, and invites all Australians living with the disease to subscribe for ongoing information at leukaemia.org.au.
To coordinate an interview with Leukaemia Foundation CEO Bill Petch please contact Monique Cerreto, National Media Manager P: 0478 300 507 E: Cerreto@leukaemia.org.au
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About The Leukaemia Foundation:
The Leukaemia Foundation is the only national charity dedicated to helping more Australians survive blood cancer and live a better quality of life. Leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders are all types of blood cancer, which can develop in anyone, of any age, at any time. More than 60,000 Australians are living with blood cancer or related disorders, and the equivalent of one person every 41 minutes is diagnosed. Although research is improving survival, sadly an Australian loses their life to blood cancer every two hours, claiming more lives than breast cancer and melanoma. For more information, please visit leukaemia.org.au
