Young Kwang Chae, Professor and Co-Director of Developmental Therapeutics, Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University, shared on X:
“Australia sets a historic global precedent in reimbursement!
Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) has officially expanded funding for Nivolumab + Ipilimumab and Pembrolizumab across all advanced solid tumors, shifting from rigid, organ-by-organ approvals to a ‘true tumor-agnostic’, ‘prescriber-discretion’ model.
Key highlights:
Empowering Clinicians: Reimbursement is tied to ‘clinical’ and ‘biomarker’ evidence of ‘immunotherapy sensitivity’ (e.g., TMB-H, MSI-H/dMMR) rather than tumor anatomical origin.
DART (SWOG S1609) trial led by myself and R. J. Kurtock, Sandip Patel as Efficacy Evidence: The SWOG S1609 DART basket trial results will serve as the primary clinical proof-of-concept for physician discretion, validating that dual ICIs produce durable responses across diverse rare refractory tumors.
Global Blueprint: Demonstrates how Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies can modernize reimbursement using basket trial data and genomic profiling to bridge treatment gaps for rare cancers.”
Title: Nivolumab/Ipilimumab and Pembrolizumab for All Cancers: Australia’s Landmark Tumor-Agnostic Immunotherapy Reimbursement
Authors: Vivek Subbiah and Razelle Kurzrock
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