A game-changing drug is transforming the lives of children battling severe eczema, but for many families it remains painfully out of reach. Now doctors are joining forces in a new push to have it subsidised for younger patients.
For young Mackenzie, eczema dominated her entire childhood. Scratching throughout the day and night, bleeding, crying, painful skin. The condition was so severe she had to delay starting school.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Doctors push for eczema drug subsidy for children
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“It’s heartbreaking to see your little girl being so miserable,” her mother Fran Katic said.
But two years ago, Mackenzie started on the drug dupilumab, also known as Dupixent. She was granted free access only after being admitted to hospital.
“It’s like a 360 [degree turnaround]. It’s like, who is this child? You know, she’s happy, she’s smiling,” Katic said.
Three million Australians suffer from eczema, with one in three children under six affected. For some kids it’s very mild, but for others it can be so severe it impacts every aspect of their lives.
The drug is PBS subsidised, but only for severe sufferers over 12. About 20,000 Australians currently benefit from the scheme.
Parents with younger children can be slugged $20,000 a year just to help ease their child’s pain.
“Dupilumab is game-changing. It has changed the lives of so many of my patients with very severe disease,” dermatology specialist Dr Li-Chuen Wong said.
“I cannot tell you how important it is that our patients here have access to this medication.”
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Committee first recommended access for under-12s four years ago. Its latest decision is another setback, but the door remains open for a deal to finally give more kids access.
For Mackenzie, the difference is already clear.
“She can actually live her normal life now,” he father said.
