We are thrilled to advise that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Committee (PBAC) at its March meeting has recommended that ruxolitinib (jakavi) be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for adult polycythemia vera patients who are resistant to or intolerant of hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea).

This does not mean it’s on the PBS and available for us to be prescribed yet.
The approvals process will now continue. For example, cost still needs to be considered by government and so automatic approval and listing is not a given.  Also this may still take some time (eg, as in the case of momelotinib – Omjjara approval for anaemic myelofibrosis).

However it’s a really welcome step in the PBAC approval process and the MPNAA would like to thank those people who made a submission to the PBAC in support of its inclusion on the PBS. The MPN AA also made a submission.

Here is the excerpt from the PBAC report.

Patients may be wondering why the language ‘resistant to or intolerant of hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea)’ has been used when so many patients are in fact being treated with Pegasys. However this recommendation is couched in the words of the submission from the pharmaceutical company. That submission in turn was based on results of clinical trials that reported on hydroxyurea versus ruxolitinib.