PBAC tick for new psoriasis, HS and AD options

A new systemic treatment option for severe atopic dermatitis gets the PBAC tick.

The March 2024 PBAC outcomes, released last week, provide some new options for patients with psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa and atopic dermatitis.

There’s a new systemic treatment option on the table for people aged 12 and over with severe atopic dermatitis, with the IL-13 inhibitor lebrikizumab (Ebglyss, Eli Lilly) recommended for phone/online authority required PBS listing.

PBAC recognised the need for more systemic treatments for severe atopic dermatitis, and considered that lebrikizumab’s overall clinical benefit was similar to comparator drugs dupilumab and upadacitinib.

At the time of writing it was under evaluation by the TGA.

Adalimumab biosimilar Yuflyma (Celltrion), which is currently PBS-listed for various indications, including chronic plaque psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa, requested a written authority listing for an 80mg in 0.8mL pre-filled pen and pre-filled syringe under the same conditions as the reference biologic Humira.

PBAC recommended the listing, with written authority required for initial and first continuing treatment, and streamlined authority for subsequent continuing treatment.

Another biosimilar to be recommended for PBS listing was Amgen Australia’s Wezlana, which was approved by the TGA in January this year.

It’s the first ustekinumab biosimilar to hit the Australian market and was recommended for chronic plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

It is available in various forms, including injection vial, pre-filled syringe and IV infusion.

New forms of the reference ustekinumab biologic Stelara (Janssen) were also approved, with single use pre-filled pens and single use pre-filled syringes now available in addition to the existing injection vial.

Other recommendations for PBS listing from the March 2024 PBAC meeting included relugolix with estradiol and norethisterone acetate (Ryeqo, Gedeon Richter) for endometriosis; bimekizumab, currently PBS listed for plaque psoriasis, has been extended to psoriatic arthritis, non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis; and anifrolumab (Saphnelo, AstraZeneca) for systemic lupus erythematosus.

See the full list of outcomes from the March 2024 PBAC meeting for more. Note that recommendation does not mean immediate PBS listing.