Initial treatment commencing a Biological Treatment Cycle, by a rheumatologist or by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of psoriatic arthritis, of adults who:

(1) have severe active psoriatic arthritis with a record of rheumatoid factor negative status within the last 12 months; and

(2) have not previously received PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent for this condition, or, where the patient has previously received PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent for this condition, have received no such treatment for a period of 5 years or more starting from the date the last application for PBS-subsidised therapy with a biological agent for this condition was approved; and

(3) have failed to achieve an adequate response to methotrexate at a dose of at least 20 mg weekly for a minimum period of 3 months and to sulfasalazine at a dose of at least 2 g per day for a minimum period of 3 months, unless the patient has had a break in PBS-subsidised biological agent treatment of at least 5 years, in which case the patient is required to demonstrate failure to achieve an adequate response to treatment with either methotrexate or sulfasalazine, at an adequate dose, for a minimum of 3 months; and

(4) have had the psoriatic component of their disease confirmed by a dermatologist or by biopsy at any time; and

(5) have signed a patient acknowledgement form declaring that they understand and acknowledge that PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent will cease if they do not demonstrate the response to treatment required to support continuation of PBS-subsidised treatment at any assessment where a response must be demonstrated; and

where biological agent means adalimumab or etanercept or infliximab; and

where a Biological Treatment Cycle is a period of treatment with successive biological agents which commences when an eligible patient (one who has not received PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent for psoriatic arthritis in at least the previous 5 years) receives an initial course of PBS-subsidised therapy with 1 biological agent, and which continues until the patient has tried, and either failed or ceased to respond to, PBS-subsidised treatment with 3 biological agents, at which point the patient is no longer eligible for treatment and the period of treatment ceases; and

where the following conditions apply:

failure to achieve an adequate response to the treatment regimens specified at (3) above is demonstrated by an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) greater than 25 mm per hour or a C-reactive protein (CRP) level greater than 15 mg per L, and either an active joint count of at least 20 active (swollen and tender) joints, or at least 4 active joints from the following list of major joints:

- elbow, wrist, knee or ankle (assessed as active if swollen and tender); or

- shoulder or hip (assessed as active if there is pain in passive movement and restriction of passive movement, and where pain and limitation of movement are due to active disease and not irreversible damage such as joint destruction or bony overgrowth);

if the requirement to demonstrate an elevated ESR or CRP cannot be met, the authority application includes the reasons why this criterion cannot be satisfied;

if treatment with any of the drugs mentioned at (3) above is contraindicated according to the relevant Therapeutic Goods Administration-approved Product Information, the authority application includes details of the contraindication ;

if intolerance to treatment with the regimens specified at (3) develops during the relevant period of use and is of a severity necessitating permanent treatment withdrawal, the authority application includes details of the degree of this toxicity;

the authority application is made in writing and includes a completed copy of the appropriate Psoriatic Arthritis PBS Authority Application - Supporting Information Form which includes details of the patient’s ESR and CRP measurements, and an assessment of the patient’s active joint count, conducted no earlier than 1 month prior to the date of application, and a copy of the signed patient acknowledgment form;

a course of initial treatment commencing a Treatment Cycle is limited to a maximum of 22 weeks of treatment;

if less than 22 weeks of treatment is authorised when the written application is made, a subsequent authority application for a supply sufficient to enable the patient to complete 22 weeks of uninterrupted therapy may be submitted by telephone

Initial treatment, or recommencement of treatment, with infliximab within an ongoing Biological Treatment Cycle, by a rheumatologist or by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of psoriatic arthritis, of adults who:

(1) have a documented history of severe active psoriatic arthritis with a record of rheumatoid factor negative status within the last 12 months; and

(2) have received prior PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent for this condition in this Treatment Cycle and who are eligible to receive further therapy with a biological agent within this Treatment Cycle; and

(3) have not failed treatment with infliximab during the current Treatment Cycle; and

where biological agent means adalimumab or etanercept or infliximab; and

where the following conditions apply:

patients are eligible to receive further therapy with a biological agent within this Treatment Cycle provided they have not already tried, and either failed or ceased to respond to, PBS-subsidised treatment with 3 biological agents within this Treatment Cycle;

patients who have previously commenced, and subsequently ceased, PBS-subsidised treatment with infliximab within this Treatment Cycle are eligible to recommence therapy with this drug within this same cycle if:

(i) they have demonstrated an adequate response, as specified in the criteria for continuing PBS-subsidised treatment with infliximab, to their most recent course of PBS-subsidised infliximab treatment; and

(ii) the response was assessed, and the assessment was provided to the Medicare Australia CEO, no later than 4 weeks from the date that course ceased; and

(iii) the response was assessed following a minimum of 12 weeks of therapy, where the most recent course of PBS-subsidised treatment was a 22 week initial treatment course; and

(iv) response to treatment was determined using the same indices of disease severity used to establish baseline at the commencement of treatment;

the authority application is made in writing and includes a completed copy of the appropriate Psoriatic Arthritis PBS Authority Application - Supporting Information Form;

a course of initial treatment within an ongoing Treatment Cycle is limited to a maximum of 22 weeks of treatment;

Commencement of a Biological Treatment Cycle, with an initial PBS-subsidised course of infliximab for continuing treatment, by a rheumatologist or by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of psoriatic arthritis, of adults who:

(1) have a documented history of severe active psoriatic arthritis with a record of rheumatoid factor negative status within the last 12 months; and

(2) were receiving treatment with infliximab prior to 16 March 2006; and

(3) have demonstrated a response to infliximab treatment as specified in the criteria for continuing PBS-subsidised treatment with infliximab; and

(4) have signed a patient acknowledgement form declaring that they understand and acknowledge that PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent will cease if they do not demonstrate the response to treatment required to support continuation of PBS-subsidised treatment at any assessment where a response must be demonstrated; and

where biological agent means adalimumab or etanercept or infliximab; and

where the following conditions apply:

the course of treatment is limited to a maximum of 24 weeks of treatment;

if less than 24 weeks of treatment is authorised when the written application is made, a subsequent authority application for a supply sufficient to enable the patient to complete 24 weeks of uninterrupted therapy may be submitted by telephone;

patients are eligible for PBS-subsidised treatment under the above criteria once only

Continuing treatment within an ongoing Biological Treatment Cycle, by a rheumatologist or by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of psoriatic arthritis, of adults:

(1) who have a documented history of severe active psoriatic arthritis with a record of rheumatoid factor negative status; and

(2) whose most recent course of PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent for this condition in the current Treatment Cycle was with infliximab; and

(3) who, at the time of application, demonstrate an adequate response to treatment with infliximab; and

where biological agent means adalimumab or etanercept or infliximab; and

where the following conditions apply:

an adequate response to treatment is defined as an erythrocyte sedimentation rate no greater than 25 mm per hour or a C-reactive protein level no greater than 15 mg per L or either marker reduced by at least 20% from baseline, and either a reduction in the total active (swollen and tender) joint count by at least 50% from baseline, where baseline is at least 20 active joints, or a reduction in the number of the following major joints which are active, from at least 4, by at least 50%:

- elbow, wrist, knee or ankle (assessed as active if swollen and tender); or

the same indices of disease severity used to establish baseline at the commencement of treatment are used to determine response;

the authority application is made in writing and includes a completed copy of the appropriate Psoriatic Arthritis PBS Authority Application - Supporting Information Form, and a measurement of response to the most recent prior course of therapy with infliximab, where response is assessed, and this assessment is provided to the Medicare Australia CEO, no later than 4 weeks from the cessation of that treatment course;

if the most recent course of infliximab therapy was a 22 week initial treatment course, the application for continuing treatment is accompanied by an assessment of response to a minimum of 12 weeks of treatment with that course;

a course of continuing treatment within an ongoing Treatment Cycle is limited to a maximum of 24 weeks of treatment;

Continuing treatment within an ongoing BContinuing treatment within an ongoing Biological Treatment Cycle, by a rheumatologist or by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of psoriatic arthritis, of adults:

Get a plain-English read of Continuing treatment within an ongoing B

(1) have a documented history of severe active psoriatic arthritis with a record of rheumatoid factor negative status within the last 12 months; and

(2) have received prior PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological agent for this condition in this Treatment Cycle and who are eligible to receive further therapy with a biological agent within this Treatment Cycle; and

where the following conditions apply:

patients are eligible for PBS-subsidised treatment under the above criteria once only

Continuing treatment within an ongoing Biological Treatment Cycle, by a rheumatologist or by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of psoriatic arthritis, of adults:

(1) who have a documented history of severe active psoriatic arthritis with a record of rheumatoid factor negative status; and