The IL-23 inhibitor was made available on 1 March.
Patients with psoriatic arthritis will now be able to access the treatment through the PBS.
Last week pharmaceutical company AbbVie announced that adult patients with severe psoriatic arthritis will be able to access risankizumab, their interleukin-23 inhibiting monoclonal antibody, through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Risankizumab showed efficacy in the KEEPsAKE-1 and KEEPsAKE-2 phase three trials, including two-thirds of patients displaying 90% clearance of psoriasis via the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 90) after almost two years.
Inhibiting IL-23 blocks the release of proinflammatory cytokines seen in many chronic conditions such as psoriatic arthritis, thereby reducing the inflammation that causes stiffness, pain and swelling in and near the joints affected by psoriatic arthritis.
The treatment is indicated in adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis who have previously tried, or been unable to try, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, and in patients who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy.
Professor Andrew Östör, a Melbourne-based rheumatologist, welcomed PBAC’s decision.
“It’s important for me as a rheumatologist to have a range of therapeutics for my patients, with differing mechanisms of action and modes of administration, as each patient has unique needs and responds differently to treatment. Having another option available on the PBS for severe psoriatic arthritis is great news for patients and doctors,” he said.
Risankizumab is also listed on the PBS for adult patients with severe chronic plaque psoriasis, after it was approved by the TGA in early 2022.
