Positive Life NSW

IMPORTANT NEW MEDICINES LISTED ON THE PBS

The Australian Government has decided to provide subsidised access to 48 medicines, including treatments for HIV.

These listings include drugs that were deferred in February 2011 and new drugs recently considered and approved for listing by Cabinet.

When some listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) were deferred in February, the Government said it would reconsider these drugs when fiscal circumstances allowed.

Budget savings created by price reductions arising from more competitively priced medicines, as well as a number of recent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) recommendations, mean that it is now possible to list these medicines.

These PBS listings come as the Government also agreed with consumer and industry groups to improve the certainty around the PBS listing process.

As part of the Government's commitment with the Consumers Health Forum, Generic Medicines Industry Association and Medicines Australia:

• The Government, industry and consumer groups agreed to work together to discuss ways to manage deferrals into the future.
• They also agreed to work together on further savings for the 2012-13 Budget and other savings following the expiry of the memorandum of understanding between industry and Government. 
• The Government committed to not defer any drugs that cost under $10 million a year for the coming year, while it works with all parties to achieve longer-term PBS sustainability.
• Industry has also agreed to legislative amendments to complete price disclosure reforms, which will help to end anomalies in the current pricing system.

New listings on the PBS and price changes

Most listings will take effect from 1 December 2011, subject to final listing arrangements being met by the suppliers of these medicines and will include:

• darunavir (Prezista®)- for the treatment of HIV infection
• paliperadone palmitate (Invega Sustenna®) - for the treatment of schizophrenia
• alendronate (Fosamax®) - for the treatment of osteoporosis
• bortezomib (Velcade®)- for the treatment of multiple myeloma in patients with severe acute renal failure
• capecitabine (Xeloda®)- for the treatment of patients with advanced bowel cancer
• losartan (Cozavan®) - for the treatment of hypertension
• magnesium aspartate (Mag-Sup®) - for the treatment of hypomagnesaemia and chronic renal disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons
• rituximab (Mabthera®)- a high cost medicine for the treatment of a specific form of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. 

The Government has also agreed to increase the price of 23 medicines currently listed on the PBS including:

• ritonavir (Norvir®) - for the treatment of HIV infection
• dothiepin (Dothep®) - for the treatment of depression
• rifampicin (Rimycin®) - for the treatment of rare but serious infections including tuberculosis and as a prophylaxis for close contacts of patients with meningococcal disease
• erythromycin lactobionate (Erythrocin-IV®) and erythromycin ethyl succinate (E-Mycin 200®, E.E.S. 200®, E-Mycin 400® and E.E.S. Granules®)  - for the treatment of bacterial infections
• acarbose (Glucobay®) - for the treatment of diabetes
• Glucose indicator - urine (Diastix®) – used by diabetes patients
• Hexamine hippurate (Hiprex®) - for the treatment of bacterial infections
• Sucralfate (Ulcyte® and Carafate®) - for the treatment of peptic ulcers.

The terms of the commitment made between the Australian Government, the Consumers Health Forum, Generic Medicines Industry Association and Medicines Australia is available from www.health.gov.au

30 SEPTEMBER 2011