28 April 2016 - Adalimumab (Humira) has been listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) since 2004 for use by certain patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Multiple submissions since then have resulted in its PBS listing extended to include patients with ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis & Crohn’s disease. Humira is of the highest Government cost items on the PBS.

Since late 2013, the sponsor of Humira AbbVie has sought to obtain a listing for adalimumab on the PBS for use by certain patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). This follows the recent PBS listing of infliximab (Remicade and then Inflectra) for patients with UC. The PBAC has rejected four submissions for adalimumab for UC, primarily due to uncertainty with respect to its comparative clinical benefit against infliximab.

At its March 2016 meeting, the PBAC recommended the listing of adalimumab for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis on the basis of a clinical need for a subcutaneous (SC) treatment option for this disease. In making this recommendation, the PBAC considered that adalimumab is likely to be less effective than infliximab for this indication and that this should be reflected in the price of adalimumab.

For more details, go to: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6522809241001985790#editor/target=post;postID=3971458012190435912;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=0;src=postname