Asthma sufferers to benefit from at-home device that injects Nucala going on PBS
People suffering from severe asthma will breathe a little easier after a life-saving piece of equipment was added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
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People living with severe asthma will benefit after a device that allows them to administer medication was listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Global healthcare company GSK Australia announced that the cost of a new pre-filled pen which allows severe asthma patients to administer their own medication, called Nucala, at home will be reimbursed by the PBS from June 1.
According to Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, more than 1400 patients a year access Nucala through the PBS and may benefit from the listing of the Nucala pre-filled pen.
Mr Hunt said without the subsidy they would have had to pay more than $20,000 a year for treatment.
It is welcome news for Wantirna South’s Gayle Biggins, 64, who has suffered from severe asthma since she was 17, and has been hospitalised more than 100 times.
“It will be fantastic, my husband and I are on pensions so it just makes life a whole lot easier for us especially in these really difficult times,” Mrs Biggins said.
She said previously she and husband Graham had to travel an hour into the Epworth Richmond for her to receive the treatment.
She said being able to use the pen at home and avoid travelling into the hospital would be hugely beneficial, as she had been in complete lockdown since the coronavirus hit because of her health concerns.
She has an injection of Nucala once a month into her stomach using the pre-filled pen, which is like an EpiPen.
Mrs Biggins, who was forced to quit her job as a teacher when she was just 53 because of her asthma, said the medication had improved the quality of her life and given her more freedom — she is able to breathe easier and walk further.
“My daughter is 42 and she said to me ‘Mum this is the first time I can’t hear you breathe and that’s because I’ve always had a wheeze’,’’ she said
“I have chronic asthma, very severe, I’ve been in hospital so many times but this has enabled me not to have as many flare-ups.
“It just means that my life feels more positive.”
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Medical director at GSK Australia Dr Andrew Weekes said the PBS listing was an important milestone for patients with severe eosinophilic asthma.
Mr Hunt also announced Symbicort will now be available at PBS prices for adolescent and adult patients with mild asthma.
He said this medicine had previously been available for patients with more severe forms of asthma.
Mr Hunt said this expanded listing was estimated to provide new treatment options for more than 170,000 patients with milder forms of asthma each year.
Patients would pay around $137 per year without subsidised access through the PBS. They will now pay as little as $6.60 per script with a concession card.
Details: gskpro.com