First cannabidiol medicine listed on PBS
Children with a rare epilepsy will benefit from the subsidy, the Minister for Health says
The first medicinal cannabis drug to be listed on the PBS will benefit children with a rare form of epilepsy, the Federal Government says.
From 1 May, patients living with severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), otherwise known as Dravet syndrome, will be able to access the cannabidiol-containing drug, Epidyolex.
The 100mg/mL oral solution must be used in combination with at least two other anti-epileptic medicines on the PBS to help control generalised tonic-clonic or clonic seizures.
Prescribing is initially limited to authority scripts initiated by neurologists, although paediatricians and GPs can continue the drug in consultation with a neurologist, the listing stipulates.
