DEBRA Australia welcomes today’s announcement from The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne (RCH), marking the first use of beremagene geperpavec (B-VEC), also known as Vyjuvek, in Australia. Delivered at RCH through the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Special Access Scheme (SAS), and supported by generous philanthropic funding, this treatment has been made available to one of our youngest in the EB community, who lives with a severe form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) known as recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB).
DEBRA Australia is encouraged by the continued progress in advanced therapies such as B-VEC, a topical gene therapy that has gained international attention as an emerging treatment option for dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), and by the growing interest from industry partners in establishing access pathways for treatments in Australia. These developments reflect the increasing momentum in EB research and innovation, and the meaningful difference that new therapies may offer to individuals and families living with EB.
It is inspiring to see that the impact of this national first treatment has already been described as profound. DEBRA Australia is proud to have contributed to this milestone achievement through our support of the EB Nurse Fellowship position at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, which has formed part of the team administering this gene therapy for the first time in Australia.
DEBRA Australia continues to work closely with clinicians, researchers, government, and industry stakeholders, including Krystal Biotech, Inc., the manufacturer of B-VEC, to advance access to emerging treatments for people living with EB across Australia. We will keep our community informed as progress continues toward broader access to B-VEC and other therapies that can improve outcomes and quality of life, and we look forward to these options becoming more broadly available to the EB families and individuals we support in the future.