A new drug for the treatment of severe chronic plaque psoriasis is to become available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) soon, federal Health Minister Tony Abbott said.
The drug Raptiva will become available on April 1 for those patients who have exhausted other treatment options or had an inadequate response from them.
Mr Abbott said so-called refractory chronic plaque psoriasis is a disfiguring and disabling condition that affects about 17,000 Australians.
"It has a major impact on the quality of life, social relationships and participation in daily life of these patients," he said in a statement.
Mr Abbott said it was estimated about 6,000 people would start Raptiva in the first full financial year of listing.
He said the annual cost to the PBS for Raptiva would be about $12,700 per patient and its listing would add about $171 million to PBS expenditure between 2005-06 and 2008-09.
