Measles, polio, and whooping cough are just some of the deadly diseases, once eradicated more than forty years ago, now returning and affecting many communities across the world.

This public health issue and the debate around it were raised in the feature documentary Jabbed: Love, Fear and Vaccines which today won best documentary and endowed Sonya Pemberton as the 2014 National Press Club Health Journalist of the Year Award.

Medicines Australia Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw, congratulated the Emmy award winner filmmaker of Pemberton Films, whose documentary reveals real, remarkable and deeply emotional journeys of families facing key vaccination issues.

Ms Pemberton was named as one of the four category winners for her documentary, and received an international study tour with a focus on the health industry, as the overall winner.

“I congratulate Sonya on her remarkable documentary which I understand has been a long four year journey, with work currently underway to launch the documentary in the US,” Dr Shaw said.

“This documentary along with other powerful health science stories told by journalists, including all the category winners today, not only raise awareness but they provide unique insights into important issues that we need to be discussing in our communities.

“Australia is well served by an especially high standard in health journalism, and Medicines Australia is pleased to support these prestigious awards.”

National Press Club President Laurie Wilson also thanked Medicines Australia as Awards Principal sponsor, with the Awards presented by Health Minister Peter Dutton.

The full list of winners is available on the Medicines Australia website

To view the award winner’s documentary Jabbed: Love, Fear and Vaccines go to http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/jabbed

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

An online information portal for healthcare professionals and the community which tracks and reports on medicine shortages in Australia was launched yesterday by the Assistant Minister for Health, Fiona Nash.

Medicines Australia welcomed the Medicines Shortages Information Initiative, which promotes an environment that supports ongoing exchange of information between industry and regulators.

“Medicines Australia is pleased to have partnered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the Generic Medicines Industry Association (GMiA) to develop an innovative and collaborative approach to what will be a very useful resource for healthcare professionals and the community,” Medicines Australia Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw said.

“We know there are multiple factors that can contribute to unanticipated shortages in medicines supply, including things like manufacturing problems, logistical failures, unexpected or unpredictable outbreaks of disease with fluctuating local demand, or end user stockpiling practices.

“This information initiative will provide the tools needed to communicate effectively to the regulator and companies ahead of time, reducing the possibility of patients not being able to access their prescribed medicine due to a supply shortage, and minimising the impact on patients.

“The development of a public website means healthcare professionals can stay up-to-date with the latest information and patients will have more consistent access to information about their medicines.”

The TGA has been working closely with industry, including Medicines Australia and the GMiA, since November 2013 to develop the Medicines Shortages Information Initiative.

“I am very pleased that through collaboration we have produced an informative protocol and website that will assist in the communication and management of shortages between Australian sponsors and the TGA,” Dr Shaw said.

“Industry welcomes the approach taken in Australia of voluntary participation supported by the consistent, risk based communication process defined in the protocol.

“We look forward to working collaboratively again with TGA in the future, to develop further innovative initiatives that support Australian patients and the healthcare community.”

The new website on medicine shortages can be found at: http://www.tga.gov.au/hp/information-msi.htm

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Medicines Australia announced today that its Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw, had been appointed to a senior position within the global pharmaceutical industry.

Medicines Australia Chairman, Dr Martin Cross, congratulated Dr Shaw on his appointment.

“While I am not able to discuss the specifics, the news that Brendan has been appointed to a senior international position is a great step forward for Brendan in his career and recognition of the work he and Medicines Australia have done over the years,” Dr Cross said.

“While obviously challenging for Medicines Australia, the Board recognises this is a great opportunity for Brendan, fully supports his appointment and wishes him well for the future.

“We look forward to continuing our association with Brendan and working with him in the future.”

Dr Shaw said he was looking forward to his new role but would be sad to be leaving Medicines Australia.

“This is a great industry full of great people. It has been a genuine privilege to work with and serve the people that make up the Australian medicines industry,” Dr Shaw said.

“This industry and the medicines and vaccines it develops are so important for the community. It’s due to this industry that we have medicines and vaccines today that save lives and treat disease.

“The good news is that my new role will allow me to stay in touch with the pharmaceutical industry.”

Dr Shaw will finish his role as Medicines Australia Chief Executive on 12 September to take up his new position later this year. He will be serving on full duties as Chief Executive up to his departure day on 12 September.

Dr Cross also confirmed that the Board of Medicines Australia had already begun a search process to find a new Chief Executive for Medicines Australia.

“This is an important time for the Australian medicines industry, with a number of major challenges but also incredible opportunities, so we’ve started looking for a strong candidate to take up the baton when Brendan departs,” Dr Cross said.

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Contact Person:

Elizabeth de Somer
Phone: 04108 774 596
Email: elizabeth.desomer@medicinesaustralia.com.au

A few frostbites and the icy night wind passing through the cracks of your sleeping bag while you’re trying to stay warm isn’t the ideal night out.

But Medicines Australia chief executive, Dr Brendan Shaw will again brave the depths of Canberra’s winter next month – cardboard box, beanie and all – for a good cause.

The St Vincent de Paul CEO Sleep-out raises awareness and much needed funds to support those living on the streets. They provide food, shelter, and find jobs to help keep people off the streets.

Every year CEOs, community leaders, senior government and corporate representatives and parliamentarians from around the country take part in the Sleepout, which has so far raised over $13 million since its inception in 2006.

“There are more than 100,000 people currently homeless in Australia, and in Canberra alone there are almost two thousand people experiencing homelessness, with around 300 children under the age of 12,” Dr Shaw said.

“Having participated in the CEO Sleepout before, I know sleeping rough can be an extremely cold, wet and miserable experience. I still flinch when I see the underground carpark at the National Gallery of Australia after a particularly wet and cold Sleepout a few years ago.

“With overnight minimums in the capital already falling below zero, I certainly have some reservations about sleeping out during a Canberra winter.

“But it’s an important cause, not only to raise awareness but also much needed funds to provide practical, financial, and emotional support to help thousands of people rebuild their lives, helping to break the cycle of homelessness.”

More than a thousand business leaders from across Australia participate in the CEO Sleepout and last year the sleep-out raised $5.3 million, helping to bring an end to homelessness.

“It’s quite surprising that children are one of the largest groups of Australians experiencing homelessness, and more than 70,000 people supported by homelessness services in 2011-12 were children aged 0-17,” Dr Shaw said.

“The CEO Sleepout isn’t just about surviving the night, especially when you’re cardboard shelter collapses on you in a storm at 3am, it’s about understanding that we ‘can’ make a difference.

“The money raised helps to fund new projects, assists with the provision of existing homeless services and allows Vinnies homeless services to expand their programs.

“Hopefully as a nation we can raise even more money this year to help make a difference and break the cycle of homelessness.”

This year’s Sleepout in Canberra will take place on 19 June at the National Film and Sound Archives.

To sponsor Dr Shaw’s participation in the CEO Sleepout go to http://www.ceosleepout.org.au/ceos/act-ceos/brendan-shaw-medicines-australia.

Dr Shaw’s previous blogs on the CEO Sleepout can be found on the MA website

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Medicines Australia welcomes the Australian Government’s recognition of the importance of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in the 2014-15 Federal Budget.

“It’s encouraging to see the Australian Government has been listening to the medicines industry and honoured the investment in the PBS,” Dr Brendan Shaw, Medicines Australia Chief Executive said.

“It’s pleasing that savings generated in the health portfolio will go back into medical research.

“The new Medical Research Future Fund will be a positive step forward and we are keen to work with the Government to make this research fund a reality.

“A medical research fund in Australia will create an environment in public and private research which can deliver the results that Australian patients deserve.

Dr Shaw also acknowledged the Government decision to increase patient contributions by increasing co-payments.

“We know that increases in co-payments may result in patients not filling their scripts and that skipping medicines can lead to adverse patient outcomes and more costly medical interventions, including hospital admissions, in future,” Dr Shaw said.

“We recognise that the government needs to make changes to keep the health system sustainable and we’ve already done the hard yards, but we are pleased the PBS has been recognised as a national treasure.

“We look forward to working cooperatively with the Government to maintain and improve access to medicines, vaccines and emerging technologies for patients.”

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Speaking at today’s Future of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Summit, Medicines Australia’s Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw, made it clear that the National Commission of Audit’s recommendations, if accepted and implemented by the Government, would effectively end the PBS as we know it.

“Australian patients should be worried about the recommendations around the PBS set out by the Commission of Audit on Thursday,” Dr Shaw said.

“These recommendations would lead to Australians missing out on medicines, or having to wait even longer for new medicines to treat things like cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and rare diseases, which is a danger to all patients.

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration that patients are actually in danger if all these recommendations around the PBS were implemented.

“It would choke access to the pipeline of innovative new life-saving and life-enhancing medicines that Australians rightfully expect to receive.

“And it would almost certainly lead to the end of the Australian medicines industry, with flow-on of the billions of dollars in exports it generates, and the thousands of highly-skilled jobs it creates.

“When it comes to PBS policy, the best thing the Government can do with the Commission of Audit’s report is quietly put it to one side and focus on what’s happening in the real world.

“We’ve seen examples where governments have tried to enforce draconian systems on the pharmaceutical market without letting the market decide what an efficient and effective price should be.”

“Over the past seven years the industry has made the tough decisions needed, in collaboration with Government, to forgo profits from old medicines in favour of bringing new ones forward,” Dr Shaw said.

“This has directly led to the PBS Budget plateauing, and last year actually dropping by 3.5%.

“What we need from government is a stable, predictable, and efficient business operating environment to make sure the future of the PBS continues to provide all it can to the Australian people.

“So the news that the Health Minister, Peter Dutton, has re-invigorated the Access to Medicines Working Group is welcome and vital.

“I congratulate Minister Dutton on this initiative and we look forward to working with him to improve Australians access to new medicines in the future.

“We want to ensure in a decade from now, that every Australian is able access life-saving medicines in a timely manner. So now is the time to support the PBS, not slash it to pieces.

“For all of these reasons, we urge the Government not to implement this system in Australia, for the sake of the Australian industry and Australian patients.”

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

The National Commission of Audit report released today is a fundamentally flawed analysis of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

“The fact is the PBS is sustainable and needs no further savings measures, as demonstrated by the Commission of Audit’s own numbers,” said Medicines Australia Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw.

“Many of the Commission’s recommendations show an ignorance of what’s really happening in Australia and in other countries where these types of policies have been introduced.

“Access to life-saving medicines means Australian patients can afford and receive new medicines coming into the country, but these new medicines may not even make it to Australia if some of the recommendations in the Commission’s report are implemented.

“As well as being dangerous for Australian patients, the Commission of Audit has completely misunderstood the economics driving the pharmaceutical market in Australia.

“The Commission would have been better off spending time talking to cancer patients in New Zealand, Europe and the US who have missed out on cancer medicines because of policies flagged by the Commission.

“A number of the policies recommended by the Commission risk Australia’s access to medicines in the future.”

The Commission has also completely ignored the impact of its recommendations on the Australian medicines industry which contributes $4 billion in exports and $1 billion in R&D.

“If the New Zealand system is implemented in Australia, as effectively recommended by the Commission, you can kiss the Australian medicines industry goodbye,” Dr Shaw said.

“It would also lead to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and thousands of high-paying, high-skilled jobs.

“We know this because that’s exactly what happened in New Zealand. These types of reforms were introduced there and now there is no longer a manufacturing or research industry in New Zealand.

“If the Government is relying on this industry to drive economic growth, this is not the way to do it.

“Disappointingly, the report has failed to acknowledge the work the industry has done with governments over the years to make the PBS a sustainable part of the health system.

“Some of the recommendations on the PBS suggest the Commission of Audit has been drinking the Kool-Aid.

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the March quarter has shown growth in pharmaceutical prices due to the normal mechanics of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) safety net.

Medicines Australia Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw, said today’s figures showing consumer pharmaceutical price growth should be considered in the context of the December 2013 CPI, when pharmaceutical prices fell 1.6% per cent.

“The fall of the pharmaceutical price index throughout the year to December 2013 quarter was largely due to patients reaching the PBS safety net threshold and paying either a reduced co-payment in the case of general patients, or no co-payment in the case of concession card holders,” Dr Shaw said.

“As each calendar year progresses, more people reach the PBS safety net threshold.

“On 1 January each year, the safety net is reset and consumers resume paying the normal PBS co-payments until they again reach the safety net threshold. That is why the pharmaceutical component of the index rises again in the first quarter of each calendar year.

“The apparent growth in pharmaceutical prices each March quarter is a product of Government policy rather than any change in pharmaceutical company pricing policy.

“In previous years this March quarter price growth has been incorrectly interpreted by some observers as a result of undue price rises by pharmaceutical companies.

“However, the apparent increase in consumer medicine prices in the first quarter of each year is due to the impact of Government policy related to PBS safety nets.

“What it shows is that the safety net is working.”

This explanation is provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics itself in its own statistical release.

“These rises were a result of the cyclical reduction in the proportion of patients who qualify for subsidies under the Medicare Benefits Scheme and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme at the start of each calendar year,” the ABS report said.

“In fact, this year’s March quarter increase of 6.1% is the lowest March quarter increase in the pharmaceutical price index in 16 years,” Dr Shaw said.

“This may well reflect the impact of substantial PBS price cuts that have happened as a result of price disclosure over the last few years.

“Price disclosure has kept the PBS sustainable for government, taxpayers and consumers.”

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Medicines Australia has called for a new and renewed focus on developing the Australian medicines industry.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 5th Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress in Melbourne yesterday, Medicines Australia Chief Executive, Dr Brendan Shaw, said now was the time to take the next step in developing the Australian industry. “Australia has a rich heritage of medicines derived from our natural environment and medical research.

“And there’s also great stories here of how industry has partnered with science to bring new medicines to the community.

“The challenge for us here in Australia and for the industry more globally is that we want to do much more of this in Australia.

“We have a real opportunity to do this right now.

“The community is interested, the government is interested, the research community is interested and the industry is interested in taking the step to the next level of commercial partnership between science, research and commercialisation.

“We want an environment that fosters more investment and more partnerships between the public researchers and private industry.

“There’s a real opportunity to build on what we already have and grow this sector even more.”

Dr Shaw urged international researchers and investors to take the time to look at Australia’s opportunities and urged the Government that supporting these opportunities will help build the capability of the Australian medicines industry.

“We’re good at it, and there are some really exciting things happening here in medical and pharmaceutical research.”

Dr Shaw’s speech can be found here (please follow link)

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au

As the 1 April price cuts come into effect for 121 medicines, Medicines Australia reaffirms that the $20 billion in savings from ongoing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme price cuts have made the PBS sustainable.

“There is no need for further PBS savings measures in the upcoming Budget, rather we should be looking at ways to improve the process for listing new medicines to treat cancer, diabetes and other diseases,” Dr Brendan Shaw, Medicines Australia Chief Executive, said.

“It is estimated that today’s price cuts alone will save taxpayers at least another $1.5 billion over the next four years, providing ample scope for the PBS to fund new and innovative treatments as they become available.

“The Australian medicines industry needs predictability and stability in policy so that Australians can get the latest safe, effective and cost-effective treatments.

“There are many things about the health system that may keep health ministers awake at night, but the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is not one of them,” Dr Shaw said.

Government expenditure on the PBS actually declined last financial year, in contrast to the rest of the health system, and industry experts predict it to fall again this year.

In the past few months, major reports from three separate government agencies have confirmed that PBS expenditure is contained and that price disclosure is delivering savings far in excess of what was expected.

“We know that the PBS reforms have secured an enduring savings mechanism through price disclosure. The industry has already done the hard yards and importantly, these reforms were achieved through collaboration between government and industry ” Dr Shaw said.

“But with the major price reductions enjoyed by government and patients, means there is a significant impact on industry, including job losses, restructuring and downsizing.

Today more than 120 medicines on the PBS will undergo a price cut, including medicines like docetaxel with a 90 per cent reduction, and simvastatin with a further 40 per cent price cut. These price cuts will save in excess of $1.5 billion over the next four years.

“That is many times over the expected cost of any new listings of medicines.”

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Contact Person:

Alexia Vlahos
Phone: (02) 6122 8503
Email: Alexia.Vlahos@medicinesaustralia.com.au