Adults with severe growth hormone deficiency will gain access to subsidised somatropin treatment from 1 December 2018.

The current PBS listing of somatropin (Genotropin and Genotropin GoQuick) for children has been extended to include eligible adults.

It is expected that about 780 patients per year will now be able to access the medicine which would otherwise cost over $10,000 for a year of treatment.

According to a statement from the Department of Health, somatropin will be listed on the PBS for use in adults with a documented childhood onset growth hormone deficiency due to a congenital, genetic or structural cause, or adult onset growth hormone deficiency secondary to organic hypothalamic, or pituitary disease.

The drug will be available as a Written Authority item and must be prescribed by a specialist consultant physician in endocrinology for both initial and continuing treatment.

The PBS listing also includes provisions to grandfather patients who have previously received non-PBS subsidised treatment with somatropin, but patients in this category must demonstrate that they met all the initial restriction criteria prior to initiating their non-PBS subsidised treatment.