Eligible Australians with multiple myeloma will now have access to a new free therapy, Carvykti, in public hospitals across Australia thanks to the Albanese Government.
Multiple myeloma is a treatable, but not curable, type of blood cancer which develops in the white blood cells in bone marrow.
More than 14,000 Australians are estimated to be living with multiple myeloma.
The treatment cost for each patient would exceed $200,000 per year without Government funding.
Carvykti is an innovative therapy for adults whose multiple myeloma has relapsed or is not responding to other treatments.
The therapy involves taking a patient's own blood, extracting the T-cells (a type of white blood cell) and genetically altering the T-cell to attack cancerous cells once the T-cells are infused back into the patient's body.
Carvykti is now available at the Alfred Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Victoria. It will soon be rolled out in other specialist public hospitals in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
Cross border arrangements are in place for interstate patients that require treatment.
The rollout will be staggered as each state determines which of their hospitals has the capacity to deliver the therapy to patients.
Carvykti treatment is jointly funded by the Albanese Government and state governments, allowing the treatment to be provided to patients for free.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"Sadly, despite decades of scientific research globally, multiple myeloma remains one of the few incurable cancers.
"This new, free, game changing treatment will help slow the disease's progress giving patients with multiple myeloma a chance at remission and a better quality of life.
