New XLH treatment available from November 2022

A new XLH treatment will soon be available for Australian children and adults. On the eve of International XLH Awareness Day (23 October),  this is the news Australia’s XLH community has been waiting for.

From 1 November, CRYSVITA® (burosumab) will be subsidised through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)3 for Australian children and adults living with a disease, known as X-linked hypophosphataemia (XLH), that causes rickets and other deformities of the skeleton.

Eligible patients will pay just $6.80 (concession) or $42.50 (general patients) each month for CRYSVITA®. Without a subsidy, the medicine would cost more than $300,000 per year.

XLH is a genetic condition where the body loses phosphate4, a chemical needed to build and maintain bones, nerve and muscle function, and to produce energy. Caused by a genetic variant on the X-chromosome, this loss of phosphate may result in ‘soft’ bones which bend, causing rickets (bowed legs or knock-knees), short stature, bone and joint pain, recurrent dental abscesses, and a range of other health challenges.

CRYSVITA® is an antibody that blocks an over-expressed hormone known as fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) that causes the imbalance of phosphate in people with XLH. In so doing, CRYSVITA® helps to restore normal phosphate levels in the body.

You can view the full media statement from Kyowa Kirin Australia about the launch of this new XLH treatment here.