Calls to subsidise mesothelioma drug
The Asbestos Victims Association of South Australia is calling for the mesothelioma drug Alimta (permetrexed) to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
The call follows the news that Alimta (pemetrexed), a drug that has shown it can prolong survival time and improve quality of life to people with mesothelioma, has been rejected for listing on the PBS.
Asbestos Victims Association of South Australia secretary Terry Miller, said time is something people with this cruel and insidious disease do not have and they should not be forced to wait for affordable access to such vital treatment.
Whyalla Asbestos Victims’ Support Group chairperson John Arthur said he did not know of any local sufferers using the drug, mainly due to its cost.
“We are certainly for the push to list it,” Mr Arthur said.
“If it was on the PBS they (Whyalla sufferers) would give anything a go.”
He said there were no other drugs available which had similar effects on the disease.
“It would be great,” Mr Arthur said, if the drug was made available on the scheme.
Mr Miller said it wasn’t fair for people to miss out on gaining extra lie expectancy because of the drug’s cost.
“This drug has been shown to work for many people with the disease, giving them more valuable time with their loved ones and a better quality of life for the time they do have left,” Mr Miller said.
“People with mesothelioma are always having to wait for justice and it is not fair to ask them to wait any longer.”
It would cost $4million a year to list Alimta in the scheme.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital head of cancer services Dr Ken Pittman said Alimta was the first and only chemotherapy agent approved for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Dr Pittman said while Alimta was not a cure it was the only drug to have demonstrated a significant survival benefit in this difficult to treat disease.
It also reduced pain and shortness of breath, with manageable side effects.
Australia had the highest reported incidence of mesothelioma in the world since 1985.
About 600 cases are reported each year and the incidence will increase into the next decade, part due to Australia being the world’s highest user per capita of asbestos in the 1950s.
source : yourguide.com
