Portfolio — 15 April 2026

Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler announced two further PBS listings on 16 April, continuing a pattern of high-cost cancer therapy subsidisation that began with the world-first Opdivo® and Yervoy® listing in late February [TA-260416-health-6a209ba4b9f4]. The April listings cover Durvalumab (Imfinzi®) for limited-stage small cell lung cancer and muscle-invasive bladder cancer, and Repotrectinib (Augtyro®) for locally advanced or metastatic c-ROS1 positive non-small cell lung cancer — the latter a first-time PBS inclusion for that indication [TA-260416-health-6a209ba4b9f4].

The patient impact case for both drugs is significant. Durvalumab addresses small cell lung cancer, which accounts for up to 13 per cent of all Australian lung cancer diagnoses, and bladder cancer, which recorded over 3,300 diagnoses in 2024. Without PBS subsidy, patients would face costs exceeding $11,000 per script for Durvalumab and $9,700 per script for Repotrectinib — the latter affecting an estimated 100 patients annually with c-ROS1 positive disease.

Both listings carry the same co-payment structure as the February announcement: $25 per script, or $7.70 for concession cardholders.

The April announcements extend a cumulative PBS investment story Butler has been building since mid-2022. The government has now approved extra funding for 431 new and amended PBS listings since July 2022 — a figure the minister is clearly anchoring as a portfolio-wide credential. The consistent co-payment cap across successive cancer listings signals a deliberate framing choice: each new listing is presented not just as an individual drug decision but as evidence of a structural commitment to medicine affordability and equity for cancer patients.