Pharmac weighs big name drugs

New Zealand's Pharmac is considering some big name drugs in upcoming meetings of advisory committees.

On the May agenda for the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) is AstraZeneca's PD-L1 inhibitor Imfinzi, in combination with etoposide and either carboplatin or cisplatin, to treat people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).

Imfinzi is funded for that in Australia, and AZ is seeking a recommendation to expand the population to include the treatment of limited-stage SCLC in patients whose disease has not progressed during or following chemoradiation therapy.