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Ankylosing spondylitis Clinical criteria: Treatment Phase: Continuing treatment Patient must have received this drug as their most recent course of PBS-subsidised biological medicine treatment for this condition, AND Patient must have demonstrated an adequate response to treatment with this drug, AND Patient must not receive more than 24 weeks of treatment under this restriction. Population criteria: Patient must be at least 18 years of age. Treatment criteria: Must be treated by a rheumatologist; OR Must be treated by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of ankylosing spondylitis. The authority application must be made in writing and must include: (1) a completed authority prescription form; and (2) a completed authority application form relevant to the indication and treatment phase (the latest version is located on the website specified in the Administrative Advice). An adequate response is defined as an improvement from baseline of at least 2 units (on a scale of 0-10) in the BASDAI score combined with at least 1 of the following: (a) an ESR measurement no greater than 25 mm per hour; or (b) a CRP measurement no greater than 10 mg per L; or (c) an ESR or CRP measurement reduced by at least 20% from baseline. Where only 1 acute phase reactant measurement is supplied in the first application for PBS-subsidised treatment, that same marker must be measured and used to assess all future responses to treatment. The assessment of response to treatment must be documented in the patient's medical records. An application for the continuing treatment must be accompanied with the assessment of response conducted following a minimum of 12 weeks of therapy and no later than 4 weeks from cessation of the most recent course of treatment. This will enable ongoing treatment for those who meet the continuing restriction for PBS-subsidised treatment. Where a response assessment is not conducted within these timeframes, the patient will be deemed to have failed to respond to treatment with this drug. If a patient fails to demonstrate a response to treatment with this drug they will not be eligible to receive further PBS-subsidised treatment with this drug for this condition within this treatment cycle. Serious adverse reaction of a severity resulting in the necessity for permanent withdrawal of treatment is not considered as a treatment failure. A patient may re-trial this drug after a minimum of 5 years have elapsed between the date the last prescription for a PBS-subsidised biological medicine was approved in this cycle and the date of the first application under a new cycle under the Initial 3 treatment restriction.
“Certolizumab pegol has a high affinity for human TNFα and binds with a dissociation factor (KD) of 90 pM. TNFα is a key proinflammatory cytokine with a central role in inflammatory processes. Certolizumab pegol selectively neutralises TNFα (90% inhibitory concentration [IC90]) of 4 ng/mL for inhibition of human TNFα in the in vitro L929 murine fibrosarcoma cytotoxicity assay) but does not neutralise lymphotoxin α (TNFβ).”
“about 11 days”
Working under the parallel aged-care framework? Aged-care equivalent →
Severe psoriatic arthritis Clinical criteria: Treatment Phase: Continuing treatment Treatment criteria: Must be treated by a rheumatologist; OR Must be treated by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of psoriatic arthritis. Patient must have received this drug as their most recent course of PBS-subsidised biological medicine treatment for this condition, AND Patient must have demonstrated an adequate response to treatment with this drug, AND Patient must not receive more than 24 weeks of treatment under this restriction. Population criteria: Patient must be aged 18 years or older. An adequate response to treatment is defined as: an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) no greater than 25 mm per hour or a C-reactive protein (CRP) level no greater than 15 mg per L or either marker reduced by at least 20% from baseline; and either of the following: (a) a reduction in the total active (swollen and tender) joint count by at least 50% from baseline, where baseline is at least 20 active joints; or (b) a reduction in the number of the following major active joints, from at least 4, by at least 50%: (i) elbow, wrist, knee and/or ankle (assessed as swollen and tender); and/or (ii) shoulder and/or hip (assessed as pain in passive movement and restriction of passive movement, where pain and limitation of movement are due to active disease and not irreversible damage such as joint destruction or bony overgrowth). The same indices of disease severity used to establish baseline at the commencement of treatment with each initial treatment application must be used to determine response for all subsequent continuing treatments. The authority application must be made in writing and must include: (1) a completed authority prescription form(s); and (2) a completed Severe Psoriatic Arthritis PBS Authority Application - Supporting Information Form. Where the most recent course of PBS-subsidised treatment with this drug was approved under either Initial 1, Initial 2, or Initial 3 treatment restrictions, an assessment of a patient's response must have been conducted following a minimum of 12 weeks of therapy and submitted to the Department of Human Services no later than 4 weeks from the date of completion of treatment. An application for the continuing treatment must be accompanied with the assessment of response following a minimum of 12 weeks of therapy with this drug and submitted to the Department of Human Services no later than 4 weeks from the date of completion of treatment. This will enable ongoing treatment for those who meet the continuing restriction for PBS-subsidised treatment. Where the response assessment is not submitted within this timeframe, the patient will be deemed to have failed to respond to treatment with this drug. If a patient fails to demonstrate a response to treatment with this drug they will not be eligible to receive further PBS-subsidised treatment with this drug for this condition. Serious adverse reaction of a severity resulting in the necessity for permanent withdrawal of treatment is not considered as a treatment failure. A patient may re-trial this drug after a minimum of 5 years have elapsed between the date the last prescription for a PBS-subsidised biological medicine was approved in this cycle and the date of the first application under a new cycle under the Initial 3 treatment restriction.
Severe active rheumatoid arthritis Clinical criteria: Treatment Phase: Initial 1 (new patient) or Initial 2 (change or recommencement of treatment after a break in biological medicine of less than 24 months) or Initial 3 (recommencement of treatment after a break in biological medicine of more than 24 months) - balance of supply Treatment criteria: Must be treated by a rheumatologist; OR Must be treated by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Patient must have received insufficient therapy with this drug for this condition under the Initial 1 (new patient) restriction to complete 18 to 20 weeks treatment, depending on the dosage regimen; OR Patient must have received insufficient therapy with this drug for this condition under the Initial 2 (change or recommencement of treatment after a break in biological medicine of less than 24 months) restriction to complete 18 to 20 weeks treatment, depending on the dosage regimen; OR Patient must have received insufficient therapy with this drug for this condition under the Initial 3 (recommencement of treatment after a break in biological medicine of more than 24 months) restriction to complete 18 to 20 weeks treatment, depending on the dosage regimen, AND The treatment must provide no more than the balance of up to 18 to 20 weeks treatment available under the above restrictions.
Non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis Clinical criteria: Treatment Phase: Continuing treatment Patient must have received this drug as their most recent course of PBS-subsidised biological medicine treatment for this condition, AND Patient must have demonstrated an adequate response to treatment with this drug for this condition, AND The treatment must not exceed a maximum of 24 weeks with this drug per authorised course under this restriction. Treatment criteria: Must be treated by a rheumatologist; OR Must be treated by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. An adequate response to therapy with this biological medicine is defined as a reduction from baseline in the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) score by 2 or more units (on a scale of 0-10) and 1 of the following: (a) a CRP measurement no greater than 10 mg per L; or (b) a CRP measurement reduced by at least 20% from baseline. If the requirement to demonstrate an elevated CRP level could not be met under an initial treatment restriction, a reduction in the BASDAI score from baseline will suffice for the purposes of administering this continuing treatment restriction. The patient remains eligible to receive continuing treatment with the same biological medicine in courses of up to 24 weeks providing they continue to sustain an adequate response. It is recommended that a patient be reviewed in the month prior to completing their current course of treatment.
Curated subset. The full adverse-effect list is in the TGA Product Information; click any citation above to open it.