Australians newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma can receive a new frontline therapy, with the federal government funding a first-of-its-kind medicine which activates the immune system to fight the deadly blood cancer.
Medical experts and patient advocates say the announcement by the Federal Health, Disability and Ageing Minister will bring Australia in line with other countries which fund Johnson & Johnson’s DARZALEX (daratumumab) as an initial treatment for multiple myeloma.
DARZALEX is now available through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) as frontline treatment for Australians diagnosed with multiple myeloma who are not eligible for stem cell transplantation. It will be used in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (DRd).
DARZALEX is the first new type of medicine to be government-funded for this patient group in 12 years.
Without the subsidy, around 1300 newly diagnosed patients would pay more than $150,000 for the first year of treatment with DARZALEX and $84,000 annually thereafter.
Under the PBS, eligible patients will pay just $7.70 per script (concession) or $31.60 (general patients) per month for the remainder of 2025.
On 1 January, the general patient price will drop to $25 per month.
Head of Clinical Haematology and Clinical Haematology Research at St Vincent’s Hospital Professor Hang Quach, who was involved in clinical trials of DARZALEX, welcomed the new medicine subsidy, noting that Australia has one of the highest multiple myeloma incidence and death rates in the world.
“We now have a new first-line treatment option for the majority of patients diagnosed with this incurable blood cancer,” she said.
“This could not have come soon enough.”
“It has been more than a decade since a new type of medicine was added to the PBS for this group of patients.
“For these patients, survival rates have not improved in more than a decade. Approximately one in every two patients will die within five years of their diagnosis.”
DARZALEX is a first-of-its-kind, targeted immunotherapy that works by attaching to a signalling molecule on the surface of a multiple myeloma cell, triggering the patient’s immune system to attack.
“This medicine works through the immune system. After years of research, we have the ability to suppress the cancer at the start of a patient’s cancer journey when their immune system is at its strongest,” Prof Quach said.
“As myeloma becomes harder to treat after each relapse, it is really important that we get the initial treatment right.”
Multiple myeloma is a common form of blood cancer that affects plasma cells found in the bone marrow.
While stem cell transplantation is the recommended treatment approach for newly diagnosed patients, most are considered unsuitable for the procedure due to advanced age, other health issues, or a range of other factors.
Each year, more than 2,600 Australians are diagnosed with multiple myeloma and approximately 1,100 lives are lost to the disease.
According to Myeloma Australia chief executive officer Mark Henderson, the myeloma community “has been waiting a long time” for access to DARZALEX as an initial treatment for the disease.
“This is fantastic news for future multiple myeloma patients and their families,” he said.
“Having DARZALEX available through the PBS as frontline therapy means access to this important therapy at the start of a patient’s cancer journey.”
