Revolutionary new cancer drug melts away cancer, given fast-track approval by the USDA

A revolutionary drug that melts away cancer in some stage four patients has been given fast-track approval in the United States.

Melbourne-developed Venetoclax is one of a new generation of targeted drugs which attack specific cancer-causing biological factors like cell-structure mutations.

Robert Oblak was fighting a recurrence of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, when he was chosen to take part in a trial in 2013.

"I think I was the eleventh person in the world to have it," he told 7.30.

"It was amazing."

Within a year his leukaemia went into remission.

"It causes no side-effects. Nothing, absolutely nothing," he said.

"Quite amazing. So even when it's killing cells, you feel great."

Professor John Seymour, of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, helped oversee the trial.

He said the treatment worked in a very different way to traditional therapies.

"Cells, when they are born, are destined to die and cancer cells and particularly leukaemia cells delay that death by using a protein called BCL2 that stops the normal time of death," he explained to 7.30.

"Venetoclax works by specifically blocking the action of that BCL2 and allows the cells to die in the way that they were destined to."

In the trial nearly four out of five patients had a positive result, with complete remission for one in five patients.

Some patients did have a negative result.

But despite receiving fast-tracked approval for use in the United States and the European Union, the drug is not available in Australia.

Although manufacturer AbbVie applied for its listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) at the same time as in other jurisdictions, Australia's slower approvals process through the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) means Australian patients cannot access it.