PHARMAC proposes to fund pembrolizumab (Keytruda) 

June 28, 2016

PHARMAC Announcement

PHARMAC has reached a commercially favourable provisional agreement with Merck Sharpe and Dohme (New Zealand) Limited (MSD) for the supply of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and is seeking feedback on a proposal to fund pembrolizumab for patients with advanced melanoma, subject to Special Authority criteria.

Separate to the provisional agreement with MSD PHARMAC also is seeking feedback on a proposal to:

  • amend the Special Authority criteria applying to nivolumab (Opdivo) so that it would also be funded for patients who experience treatment intolerance on first-line funded pembrolizumab and their cancer has not progressed while taking funded pembrolizumab.
  • establish “programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors” as a therapeutic sub-group as defined in PHARMAC’s Operating Policies and Procedures.

All the above changes are proposed for implementation from 1 September 2016.

This proposal to fund pembrolizumab would result in a second PD-1 inhibitor being funded for patients with advanced melanoma. PHARMAC is not aware of any evidence to support the use of pembrolizumab after nivolumab treatment failure, or vice versa, but the two agents may have different side effect profiles; therefore, they may be useful alternatives to each other in patients who experience early treatment-limiting toxicity. Under this proposal, switching between the two funded PD-1 inhibitor treatments would be permitted within the first 12 weeks of starting funded treatment if the first treatment choice is not tolerated and the patient’s cancer did not progress while on their first treatment.

PHARMAC invited written feedback on this proposal by 4 pm on Monday, 11 July 2016.

You can see MelNet's submission to this proposal here.

Source:

PHARMAC website


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