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Patients urged to lobby PBAC
Posted 2 October 2018
Rare Cancers Australia (RCA) is urging patients to file consumer submissions to the PBAC with the deadline for the committee's November meeting closing tomorrow (Wednesday).
Using its social media sites, RCA urged patients "living with any of the cancer types under consideration, there is an opportunity for you to write to the PBAC and tell them of your needs and experience".
It highlighted four treatments on the committee's November agenda, including two checkpoint inhibitors - AstraZeneca's Imfinzi and MSD's Keytruda, both being considered for non-small cell lung cancer, although in different patient populations.
It also pointed to Bayer's Stivarga, being considered for hepatocellular carcinoma, and AbbVie's cancer pill Venclexta in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
While PBAC has expressed concerns about the growing number of consumer submissions, RCA suggested patients focus on their personal experience and consider the following questions:
- How does your cancer affect quality of life?
- What would you most like to see from this treatment being available?
- If you have used the medicine before or are using it, what was your experience of the beneficial effects and what was your experience?
- How does it compare to other treatments you have received?
- If you haven't used the medicine yet, what are your expectations of it?
- Where did you obtain the information that helped form your views on this treatment?
- What does this medicine available on the PBS mean to you?
Patients are increasingly putting pressure on the PBAC to approve medicines they believe will be helpful. However, companies are not exempt with a current petition demonstrating the growing interest of consumers in medicine listings.
A patient petition targeting Bayer seeking to have its PBS-listed Nexavar made "available to fibromatosis desmoid tumour patients on PBS" launched on change.org last week picked up more than 16,000 signatures in three days.
RCA is looking to educate patients on how to influence drug access in Australia, with workshops being held later this month in Sydney and Adelaide.
"These workshops may also be helpful to healthcare professionals wanting to further understand how to direct patients to have a voice in decision making," RCA says.
Megan Brodie
Posted 2 October 2018
Rare Cancers Australia (RCA) is urging patients to file consumer submissions to the PBAC with the deadline for the committee's November meeting closing tomorrow (Wednesday).
Using its social media sites, RCA urged patients "living with any of the cancer types under consideration, there is an opportunity for you to write to the PBAC and tell them of your needs and experience".
It highlighted four treatments on the committee's November agenda, including two checkpoint inhibitors - AstraZeneca's Imfinzi and MSD's Keytruda, both being considered for non-small cell lung cancer, although in different patient populations.
It also pointed to Bayer's Stivarga, being considered for hepatocellular carcinoma, and AbbVie's cancer pill Venclexta in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
While PBAC has expressed concerns about the growing number of consumer submissions, RCA suggested patients focus on their personal experience and consider the following questions:
- How does your cancer affect quality of life?
- What would you most like to see from this treatment being available?
- If you have used the medicine before or are using it, what was your experience of the beneficial effects and what was your experience?
- How does it compare to other treatments you have received?
- If you haven't used the medicine yet, what are your expectations of it?
- Where did you obtain the information that helped form your views on this treatment?
- What does this medicine available on the PBS mean to you?
Patients are increasingly putting pressure on the PBAC to approve medicines they believe will be helpful. However, companies are not exempt with a current petition demonstrating the growing interest of consumers in medicine listings.
A patient petition targeting Bayer seeking to have its PBS-listed Nexavar made "available to fibromatosis desmoid tumour patients on PBS" launched on change.org last week picked up more than 16,000 signatures in three days.
RCA is looking to educate patients on how to influence drug access in Australia, with workshops being held later this month in Sydney and Adelaide.
"These workshops may also be helpful to healthcare professionals wanting to further understand how to direct patients to have a voice in decision making," RCA says.
Megan Brodie
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