Reimbursement for Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) expanded

Sep 26, 2022

The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care announced that from 1 October 2022 Keytruda (pembrolizumab) will be included in the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.   The Health Minister reported that without subsidy patients can pay more than AUD $135,000 per course of treatment, but with the PBS listing, this treatment will cost patients less than AUD $50 per prescription.   Keytruda is already PBS-listed for a range of cancers including malignant melanoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), urothelial cancer, B-cell lymphoma and colorectal cancer.

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