PBS updates

Keytruda (Pembrolizumab)

pembrolizumab 100 mg/4 mL injection, 4 mL vial · INJECTION · PBS code 13608F

STREAMLINED

What it costs

AU$3632.56 PBS-determined price per pack

Most patients pay only the standard PBS co-payment, not the full price above — up to AU$25.00 per script (general) or AU$7.70 (concession/Safety Net) in 2026. The figure above is what the PBS pays the pharmacy; the Australian Government subsidises the rest. Always confirm the current amount with your pharmacist.

  • • First listed on the PBS: 2023-09-01.
  • • Repeats: 6.
  • • PBS program: IP.
Eligibility criteria for subsidised access

The following is the government's own wording from the PBS Schedule, shown unchanged.

Listing of Pharmaceutical Benefits (NHL) - Schedule 4 part 1

Recurrent, unresectable or metastatic triple negative breast cancer


The condition must have been (up until this drug therapy) untreated in the unresectable/metastatic disease stage; AND

The condition must have been (up until this drug therapy) untreated with programmed cell death-1/ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitor therapy in breast cancer; AND

Patient must have a World Health Organisation (WHO) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score no higher than 1 prior to treatment initiation; AND

The treatment must be in combination with chemotherapy; AND

The condition must have both: (i) programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression confirmed by a validated test, (ii) a Combined Positive Score (CPS) of at least 10 at treatment initiation; AND

Patient must be undergoing initial treatment with this drug - this is the first prescription for this drug; or

Patient must be undergoing continuing treatment with this drug - both the following are true: (i) the condition has not progressed on active treatment with this drug, (ii) this prescription does not extend PBS subsidy beyond 24 cumulative months from the first administered dose; AND

Patient must be undergoing treatment with this drug administered once every 3 weeks - prescribe up to 6 repeat prescriptions; or

Patient must be undergoing treatment with this drug administered once every 6 weeks - prescribe up to 3 repeat prescriptions.

Sponsor: Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty Ltd ABN 14 000 173 508

Not medical advice. Voxsanity republishes public PBS data in plain English. PBS listing status and criteria can change; always confirm current subsidised availability with your doctor or pharmacist.

Source: Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), © Commonwealth of Australia. Data used and redistributed under permission; not modified from its original wording where displayed verbatim.