The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) rejected the submission to extend the listing of brentuximab vedotin to the treatment of relapsed or refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Chris Brugger has been using the drug to treat his cancer and it has proven very effective.

The PBAC considered that “brentuximab vedotin is an effective treatment, but that the magnitude of the gains… were difficult to quantify given the poor quality of the data submitted”.

For drugs to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), the drug company needs to make a submission to PBAC outlining what it would be used for and how effective the drug was in treating the specified condition.

In the submission from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, makers of brentuximab, the PBAC found the submission’s estimate of cost effectiveness was not reliable.

“It’s very disappointing,” Naomi Brugger said.

“If the submission is poor and doesn’t contain enough information it raises the question as to why the pharmaceutical company would submit something so poor, what was their reason for not giving all the data.

“I’m going to get in touch with Takeda myself and see if they can offer any info or if there’s some way that other people can help get it listed, it’s just a bit confusing it’s been listed for use with another indication.”

The process of submissions and reviews was one of the things being considered by Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into the availability of new, innovative and specialist cancer drugs in Australia.

A statement on the PBS website said “the Minister for Health, Sussan Ley, has approved a review of the PBAC submission guidelines to ensure Australians continue to have affordable and timely access to new medicines and products.”

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