Government approves treatment for people living with debilitating skin & joint disease
A treatment to assist people living with a debilitating condition will now be more widely available following its listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for Psoriatic (pron: sor-re-atic) Arthritis.Wyeth Australia today congratulated the Federal Government on its decision to approve Enbrel® for use in people with this condition.
"The approval of Enbrel (etanercept) for Psoriatic Arthritis provides rheumatologists with an important new treatment option," Managing Director of Wyeth Australia (makers of Enbrel), Erica Mann, said today.
"I commend the Government for its foresight and commitment to the arthritis community which will benefit from the addition to the PBS of this treatment," she said.
Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin and joints that currently affects about 30,000 Australians - many of them aged between 20 and 40 and in the prime of their lives. Typically, arthritis is associated with older people however with Psoriatic Arthritis this is not the case.
The arthritis in the joints may restrict people from undertaking even the simplest of tasks such as holding their baby, carrying groceries, taking a shower or even using a pen.
Not only does this disease cause irreversible damage to the joints but Psoriatic Arthritis is also associated with the chronic skin condition, psoriasis, and it also affects the tissues surrounding the joints, including tendons and ligaments.
PsA develops from initial stiffening in joints, swelling and tenderness to become a debilitating and destructive disease and, if left untreated, can lead to severe damage to the joints.
Further information on Enbrel (etanercept) may be found in the Consumer Medicine Information document available under the Our Medicines section of this website.
For further information, please contact Kylie Park on (02) 8850 8266 or 0439 604 084.
