Revolutionary Kidney Disease Drug Joins PBS: A Transformative Step for Patients Nationwide

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More than 65,000 Australians are expected to benefit from cheaper access to a medicine for chronic kidney disease recently added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

Jardiance, also known as Empagliflozin, is a medication that can slow kidney damage over time and help preserve kidney function for longer.

Health Minister Mark Butler says it’s a life-changing drug for many Australians.

“Last year, we made Jardiance available to a select group of Australians suffering from a specific kidney condition. Starting Saturday, we anticipate that an additional 70,000 Australians with kidney disease will gain access to this transformative medication,” he announced on Tuesday.

Data from the 2021 Census indicates that kidney disease affects approximately 1% of the Australian population, with the condition being diagnosed in one in every twenty Australians aged 75 and older.

For those eligible patients who do not hold a concession card, the cost of a prescription is currently $31.60. This price is set to decrease to $25 starting next year.

Peter Brown, who was diagnosed with kidney disease two years ago and has been relying on medication to improve his condition, said he was pleased to learn his upcoming medication bill can be cheaper

“It’s gonna make a big difference, and the fact that $7.70 is a big difference when you work it out over 12 months,” said Brown, referring to the concession-card rate for a single script of Jardiance.

Health Minister Mark Butler emphasizes that Jardiance, scientifically known as Empagliflozin, is significantly transformative for numerous Australians. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Health Minister Mark Butler holds up a concession card while speaking in the House of Representatives.

Butler said kidney disease was a silent epidemic in Australia.

“We think more than two and a half million Australians have kidney disease, but less than 10 per cent of them know about it, because the signs and symptoms of kidney disease usually only become apparent when it’s as much as 90 per cent of loss of kidney function has already taken place.”

Professor Carol Pollock, the chair of Kidney Health Australia, also stresses the importance of conducting health checks to detect the asymptomatic disease.

“To pick up kidney disease, what we really need is a blood test, a blood pressure check and a urine test. And some people will have some of these tests done, but not always together, and we really need the three of them to be done,” she said.

“And what we would like to see is a kidney health check that meant that people would have those things done and then have an understanding of what the risk the kidney disease could be and allow it to be appropriately treated.”