New medicines have been approved for listing on the PBS by the Minister for Health, Peter Dutton.

The new listings will include a medicine for the treatment of a type of lung cancer.

“The Government will reduce the cost of gefitinib (sold as Iressa) for more than 1,400 Australians with non-small cell lung cancer,” Mr Dutton said.

“Patients would pay around $15,000 for gefitinib each year without subsidised access through the PBS.

“The Government has also approved the listing of a new item on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) for the genetic test that is necessary to determine eligibility for gefitinib. 

“This means that patients will now be able to access both the genetic test and, if they are eligible, the medicine they may otherwise not been able to afford.”

Mr Dutton also announced that a new brand of cyclophosphamide, which is prescribed for the treatment of a range of cancers, and a new brand of benztropine, which is prescribed for the emergency treatment of uncontrollable body movements, will be listed on the PBS.

For more details, go to: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2013-dutton021.htm