"It was as if someone had taken me off death row and said, 'You're free to go.'"
Dr Vishu Konda
For Queensland GP and brain cancer patient Dr Vishu Konda, the announcement that vorasidenib will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) was life changing.
"I felt like I'd won the lottery," he said.
"It was as if someone had taken me off death row and said, 'You're free to go.'"
The PBS listing means eligible Australian brain cancer patients with low-grade IDH-mutant gliomas, including astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma, can now access vorasidenib for around $25 a month instead of $28,000 a month.
Vorasidenib is the first new brain cancer drug in 20 years. It targets the underlying genetic mutation that drives tumour, helping to slow disease progression and postpone the need for radiation and chemotherapy for a small cohort of patients.
For Vishu, the announcement removes a huge financial burden that had been looming as his two-year compassionate access program provided by Servier, the manufacturer of vorasidenib, drew to a close.
Vishu was diagnosed with a low-grade astrocytoma – a slow growing but incurable brain cancer – in 2024 after suffering a seizure just days after celebrating his daughter's second birthday. Surgeons were only able to remove around 20 per cent of the tumour because it was entwined with critical areas of his brain.
While recovering from surgery, Vishu found out about vorasidenib and was blown away by the clinical trial results.
"For the first time since my diagnosis, I felt a sense of hope," he said.
As both a doctor and a patient, Vishu says the announcement is an important step forward, but it also highlights how urgently more progress is needed.
"When I started researching after my diagnosis, I realised there hasn't been much progress for years and years. We need more research, more evidence and more breakthroughs," he said.
