Endometriosis drug Visanne to be listed on the PBS, more than ...

Endometriosis drug Visanne will become the first endo treatment in 30 years to be subsidised by the federal government, with Health Minister Mark Butler set to announce its listing on the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) on Sunday morning.

Visanne, also known by the generic name dienogest, will have its cost reduced from more than $800 per year for a course of daily tablets to $380 per year, or around $90 per year for pension and concession card holders.

It works by releasing a hormone which inhibits ovulation and menstruation, shrinking and suppressing the growth of abnormal tissue that affects people with endometriosis — a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other parts of the body, often causing intense pain and problems with fertility.

Despite affecting almost 1 million Australians and causing about 40,000 hospital admissions a year, it takes more than six years on average to secure an endo diagnosis, often due to a lack of awareness among both patients and health professionals, who may confuse it with period pain.

Mr Butler announced Visanne's addition to the PBS on Sunday at St Andrews Hospital in Adelaide, joined by medical experts and endometriosis advocates.

"This is a condition that impacts more than a million women — maybe one in seven women and teenage girls, and for too long too many women have been made to suffer in silence," he said.

"It's responsible for as many as 40,000 hospitalisations every year, and that number has increased by about 40 per cent just in the last decade — this is a condition becoming more widespread and more debilitating.

Mark Butler said the adding of the medication to the PBS was "beyond time". (AAP Image: Diego Fedele)

"It is extraordinary to me that the last listing on the PBS for a new treatment for endometriosis was 30 years ago."

Mr Butler said the treatment would be available at the reduced cost from today.

"This listing is beyond time," he said.

Gynaecologist Dr Neisha Wratten said while she had been treating some patients with the medication, women were often unable to access it due to its high cost.

"It has been a relief and a satisfaction to be able to offer to women a well-tolerated and highly efficacious treatment that relieves their pain, returns them to an excellent quality of life, and reduces the need for repeated surgeries," she said.

"But it's also been distressing to see many women have to decline the treatment they deserve because of cost, especially during the recent times of COVID when access to surgery was restricted and in the current financial climate where women put their needs behind those of their families."

She said the PBS listing was a "landmark decision" and a "day for celebration".

"It is going to impact, I estimate, between 400,000 to 500,000 Australian women in a positive manner [and] not only them, but also those who support and care for them," she said.

Dr Wratten said the drug is a progestogen, which works to stop ovulation to prevent endometriosis recurrence while also modulating the immune system, with patients reporting very few side effects in long term use.

"Visanne works for over 80 per cent of women and it can be used long term," she said.

"It was literally miraculous … I still pinch myself when women come back and say how wonderful they feel."

Lauren Jeffries was diagnosed with endometriosis a decade ago and said it had been "quite the journey".

"It's been very frustrating mainly due to the general lack of education in the general public and also having to wake up every single day in pain and just think this is how it is and how it has to be," she said.

"When I got put on Visanne about seven or eight years ago, it completely changed my life, some days I even forget that I have it — I can just live a normal life."

Ms Jeffries said the reduced cost would be very helpful for many women.

"It's a symbol of hope for us," she said.

"None of us women are lucky to have this [condition] but I feel lucky because I feel like I'm in the best position I can be because of this drug and what it's done for me."

Syl Freedman, an endo patient and co-founder of endometriosis awareness group EndoActive, welcomed the decision, calling affordable and equal access to treatment options "incredibly important".

"Anything we can do to lower the cost of endo, not just for individuals but for the Australian economy, would be beneficial," she said.

She said while there was much more education around the condition now, it remained "shrouded in mystery".

"When I was diagnosed at 21, I'd never even heard of endometriosis," she said.

"Although awareness has been improving, there are still significant gaps."

"We need ongoing education and support to ensure women are not continuing to suffer in silence."