We already know the final shape of January's list of reimbursed drugs. The Health Ministry has published the announcement, which comes into effect on January 1. The reimbursement will include 31 new molecules, 13 of which are therapies used in oncology. Although the positive reimbursement trend continues, the January list does not include several therapies that patients have been waiting for for many months, such as drugs used in women's cancers.
January reimbursement list: more therapies needed in women's cancers, among others
Published Dec. 30, 2024 09:37
Fot. MedExpress TV
According to a summary provided by the Ministry of Health, 31 new molecules will be added to the list of reimbursable drugs as of January 1, 2025, 13 of which are used in oncology. Within this group, 7 therapies are drugs for patients with blood cancers, including B-cell lymphomas and acute myeloid leukemia.
- Since the inception of the HematoCoalition, in my speeches I often emphasize that in hematooncology modern drugs are of particular importance, as the number of available therapeutic options is limited in these indications. Therefore, any new therapy in these indications is very important. I am also extremely pleased to see the availability of subcutaneous immunotherapy with atezolizumab in lung cancer and changes in the B.56 program, the treatment of prostate cancer. These are cancers that are among the top in terms of morbidity and mortality in Poland," said Anna Kupiecka, president of the OnkoCafe Foundation - Together Better and leader of the HematoKoalition. - There remains a group of patients with advanced, castration-resistant prostate cancer, known as mCRPC, who do not have a diagnosed mutation in the BRCA1/2 genes and are waiting for access to treatment with olaparib-abiraterone combination therapy, she added.
An important change that takes effect on January 1, 2025 is the reimbursement of cemiplimab in recurrent cervical cancer. The January list of reimbursed drugs also included new therapies funded by the Medical Fund, which was specifically intended to support the treatment of precisely oncology patients and those with rare diseases. As Anna Kupiecka notes, although the positive reimbursement trend of recent years is being maintained, there are still areas that need to be addressed urgently in terms of treatment options.
- From the perspective of cancer patients, the latest list of reimbursed drugs lacks trastuzumab derukstekan therapy for patients with advanced hormone-dependent breast cancer with low HER2 expression. The treatment we are calling for is the only hope for life, for improving prognosis, for putting off palliative chemotherapy. In the area of breast cancer, we also hope for reimbursement of the so-called dual blockade in subcutaneous form. The use of oral and subcutaneous forms where possible relieves the burden on medical staff and generates financial savings, which should be particularly important in view of the financial situation of the National Health Service. We are also still waiting for a shift to earlier lines of immunotherapy with dostarlimab in endometrial cancer," Anna Kupiecka enumerates.
- As a community of gynecologists-oncologists, we feel disappointed that dostarlimab did not appear on the January list of reimbursed drugs. Treatment options for patients with endometrial cancer are limited only to recurrence, and we have no access to first-line immunotherapy. Given the very good results of the registration trial for the drug, we hoped that from the New Year we would be able to offer patients a therapy that potentially gives hope even for curing the disease at an advanced stage," said Prof. Anita Chudecka-Głaz, Regional Consultant for the West Pomeranian region in the field of gynecological oncology. - This treatment is especially needed for patients with advanced endometrial cancer at clinical stage III and IV. - She added.
The new announcement of reimbursable drugs will take effect on January 1, 2025. The next reimbursement list will be announced in March and will cover therapies that may gain funding from April 1, 2025.
- We believe that, in line with the Ministry's promises, the ministry will strive to better take care of groups that don't have a full chance for innovation, and there will be a greater emphasis on prevention - for example, through reimbursement of the zoster vaccine or wider access to free vaccinations. We hope that the January list is a foretaste of further changes and that in 2025 the trend of expanding access to therapies in accordance with the state of medical knowledge will be maintained," Anna Kupiecka concluded.
Source: OnkoCafe
