Additional PBAC meeting announced so patients can access lifechanging medicines
6 November 2024: The announcement today by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon. Mark Butler MP, that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee will now hold an additional meeting in 2025 to address the immediate backlog of PBAC submissions is welcomed by industry. There should not be a delay in patients accessing life changing innovative medicines.
Medicines Australia has been in discussions with the Government over the last 10 days to prevent the cascade of consequences that would follow the PBAC’s deferral of 45 submissions that were due to be considered in March.
Medicines Australia CEO Liz de Somer said the situation should never have occurred and is pleased common sense has prevailed.
“Minister Butler has made the right call today. An additional meeting is required so patients can access the latest innovative medicines as soon as possible.”
“It is disappointing patients and industry were put in this situation without effective consultation. Australians already wait on average 466 days from the time a medicine is approved for use by the TGA to when it is made available on the PBS, which is significantly longer that comparable countries. Patients should not have to wait even longer because of a meeting schedule.”
“Proper consultation could have circumvented the need to involve the Minister and alarm patients who are waiting for access to lifesaving and life-changing medicines.”
Medicines Australia calls on the Government alongside the PBAC, to now act on reforming the system, so this situation is not repeated. There must be:
– Reform of the processes to speed up the back-end administrative processes following positive recommendations from the additional meeting to ensure later consideration is fully mitigated and patients and industry are not disadvantaged by PBAC delays.
– A review of the current list of medicine evaluators engaged by the PBAC and an expansion of the panel of evaluators so there is appropriate surge capacity to deal with consideration of new medicines as they are submitted.
– More meetings built into the annual PBAC meeting schedule noting the increasing complexity of medicines being assessed and the time take to fully assess their inclusion on the PBS.
– Health Technology Assessment reform to deal with the innovative and exciting pipelines of new medicines coming to Australia for Australian patients, avoid unnecessary resubmissions and streamline decision making.
“It is patients – taxpayers – who are impacted the most when PBS decisions are delayed. The HTA Review has demonstrated Australians do not receive timely access to new medicines. This does not need to be exacerbated by PBAC deferring consideration of new medicines in 2025. We thank the Minister for stepping in as we know he understands what delays to access can mean for Australians,” said Ms de Somer.
Media enquiries to Kate McKeown, Senior Manager Communications and Media – kate.mckeown@medicinesaustralia.com.au or 0408 775 288.