Yesterday, Australian media announced an exciting news: starting next week, two more good drugs for terminal cancer will be included in Australia`s drug-subsidized (PBS) system!
Health Secretary Greg Hunter confirmed the news.
Both drugs are targeted drugs, Alecensa for positive lung cancer and Kyprolis. for myeloma patients. The two drugs would have cost at least A $ one hundred thousand a course, but with a big stroke from the Ministry of Health to join the PBS, Australian patients can buy them for a maximum of A $39.5!
(photo source: smh)
And the patient who enjoys the discount, can even rely on the certificate issued by the hospital, 6. 4 Australian dollars to buy it! The original price of A $ one hundred thousand is now available for only a meal, and Australia`s goverment is so generous to their people!
Targeted anticancer drug (catastrophic cancers), can better inhibit the proliferation and growth of cancer cells, which is the trend of anticancer drugs in the past two years. Targeted therapy can treat breast cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphoid cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma and other cancers. Previously reported Ibrutinib, also known as Imbruvica), has a special therapeutic effect on leukemia and lymphoma. However, the drug is not cheap, for example, Ibrutinib costs as much as A $ one hundred and eighty six thousand nine hundred and ninety nine a week for treatment, and the cost of a single course of Alecensa included in PBS is as high as A $188430!
But Health Secretary Hunt said: "most people can`t afford drugs that can change their lives; but today, everyone they need can get them."
(photo source: Web)
Australia`s goverment has a precedent for incorporating various native and foreign "anti-cancer drugs" into PBS, so Alecensa and Kyprolis are certainly no exception to them! This is not the first time Australia has spent a lot of money on lowering drug prices!
In addition to the Ibrutinib mentioned above, Australia`s goverment previously spent A $1.1 billion on Australian goverment to put another anti-cancer drug, Opdivo, into PBS Medicare!
(photo source: PBS)
The world`s only cure for advanced cancer and melanoma is worth it! In the United States, Japan, Hong Kong is also selling for more than 20, 000 yuan, or more than $4000. The cost of treatment in a year is as high as millions, and it`s impossible to imagine! Today`s Opdivo in Australia costs 38.8 Australian dollars, about 200 yuan, with a membership card of 6.30 Australian dollars, about 32.4 yuan!
In addition, Keytruda, a lung cancer-specific drug known as "melts cancer cells," can be purchased at a price of A $37.7 after PBS is added. With a discount of A $6.1a, you can use Keytruda to treat cancer!
(photo source: SMH)
In addition, starting next Monday (January 2018), 12 to 13-year-olds across Australia will be able to get a free cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil 9!
Such benefits are innumerable! These once saved lives, but because the price prevents many patients from using the history will no longer exist! As long as you`re Australian, it`s Australia`s PR, `s high-priced drug that costs just $5, $6 to get it done! But also for all kinds of difficult and miscellaneous diseases! Prevent recurrence!
Kyprolis, for example, targets myeloma that prevents healthy plasma cells from working properly, weakens the bone, and causes the tumor to spread through the bone. As a result, myeloma is generally incurable, although it will recur again. But Kyprolis, is the hope of these myeloma patients! Perhaps in the future, this will no longer be incurable disease! This has made people want to put up their thumbs-up to the Australians!
However, Australia`s goverment says more drugs will be included in PBS Medicare!
Health Secretary Hunter further said that in the future, Australia`s goverment will also spend A $300 million to help Australians who need help but can not afford to buy anti-cancer drugs! I believe in the near future, we can see that there will be more "anti-cancer drugs" to join the Australian health care army!
