PBAC report - Options for listing PD-(L)1 checkpoint inhibitors for multiple cancer indications on the PBS

PBAC

22 March 2019 - The PBAC Report to the Minister for Health on “Options for listing PD(L)-1 checkpoint inhibitors for multiple cancer indications on the PBS” is now available.

In December 2018, the PBAC provided its report on “Options for listing PD(L)-1 checkpoint inhibitors for multiple cancer indications on the PBS” to the Greg Hunt, Minister for Health.

The Minister has welcomed all the options the PBAC has proposed as worthy of further investigation and supports the intent and general scope of the Committee’s recommendations.

Following receipt of the PBAC's advice, the Minister has asked the Department to:

  • support the PBAC in its work to develop an Appendix to its guidelines to provide information on possible approaches to multi-indication submissions within the existing legislative framework;
  • undertake preliminary investigations of legislated options for, and provide advice to Government within six months on:
  • subsidised access to Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) registered medicines that offer a therapeutic advance for conditions where there is a high and unmet clinical need, while the PBAC is considering an application, and
  • conditional funding arrangements that use the current Managed Access Program arrangements and establish transparent, robust and enforceable criteria for reviewing existing funding arrangements for medicines and for managing exit from subsidy.

Such options could complement the priority and provisional medicine pathways used by the TGA which are intended to improve patient access times for such medicines and work with the PBAC on the remaining recommendations which require further development.

Read PBAC Report


Michael Wonder

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Michael Wonder