Big name drugs win expansions

The PBAC considered 18 change to listing requests at its November meeting, with some big names getting the nod.

Sanofi scored a win, with PBAC recommending immunotherapy Libtayo as a first line treatment in combination with platinum doublet chemotherapy for people with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer with no evidence of epidermal growth factor receptor, anaplastic lymphoma kinase, or c-ROS-proto-oncogene 1 aberrations. This joins another recommendation for NSCLC given a year ago, but not acted upon.

Libtayo first joined the PBS in November 2022 to treat squamous cell carcinoma, and it saw strong growth over the following twelve months, earning $97.3 million pre-rebate on the R/PBS. Sanofi is now handing off the drug to its development partner Regeneron, for north of a billion dollars.