PBS Update: Hep C and two new cancer drugs listed

A new treatment has been listed on the PBS for people with hepatitis C who have failed on other therapies.

Vosevi (Gilead Sciences) is a fixed dose combination of sofosbuvir (400mg), velpatasvir (100mg) and voxilaprevir (100mg).

It is indicated for patients with chronic hepatitis C infection without cirrhosis for all genotypes (1-6) who have failed treatment with a regimen containing a non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) inhibitor.

It is estimated that about 3.5% of patients with hepatitis C fall into this category.

Treatment is for a maximum of 12 weeks.

On Monday, Minister for Health Greg Hunt also announced that two cancer drugs will be PBS-listed from 1 May.

Avelumab (Bavencio, Merck Serono) will be listed for the treatment of metastatic merkel cell carcinoma, the second-most common cause of death from skin cancer in Australia after melanoma.