The price of generic medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is already being reduced by as much as 70 per cent, despite claims in this morning’s press to the contrary, Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw said today.

Dr Shaw was responding to an article by Professor Philip Clarke in this morning’s Australian Financial Review titled “Time to slash cost of generics”.

“I’m not sure if Professor Clarke has been asleep for the past four months but a major reform to the PBS was passed by the Parliament in November and is already slashing the cost of off-patent medicines,” Dr Shaw said.

“The system of mandatory price disclosure was legislated last year as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between Medicines Australia and the Commonwealth precisely because of the need to drive savings through a competitive generics market and ensure the sustainability of the PBS.

“The system forces companies to disclose the discounted price at which they are selling medicines to pharmacy, allowing Government to adjust the price it pays to the price the medicine commands in a competitive market place.

“For example, in the latest round of price disclosure cuts the cost to Government of cancer medicine oxaliplatin will fall by 70 per cent. Cuts on other medicines will range between 10 per cent and 45 per cent.

“These reforms are achieving precisely what they were designed to do – to realise the kind of savings that other countries have been able to drive.

“The problems of expensive generics have been acknowledged by the industry and by Government. They have been fixed and substantial savings are starting to flow.

“I’m not sure if the professor has been in a time warp while PBS reform was being delivered, but prices are falling dramatically and PBS expenditure growth is now at its lowest for 15 years.

“Comparisons with other countries like Canada don’t stack up either. The healthcare system operates very differently in that country. In fact, Canada spends more on pharmaceuticals as a proportion of GDP than does Australia.”

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

New Medicare Australia data shows that expenditure on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is growing more slowly than at any time in the last 15 years, Medicines Australia chairman Will Delaat told an industry conference on the Gold Coast today.

Mr Delaat used his annual State of the Industry Symposium address at the APP conference to explode the myth that public expenditure on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is growing too quickly.

“The Commonwealth Treasury’s own forecasts from last year’s Budget suggest the PBS will grow at only 2.1 per cent per annum in real terms over the next four years,” Mr Delaat told the conference.

“In fact according to the latest Medicare Australia data in the year to January, the PBS grew at a meagre 1.3 per cent in nominal terms, even less after adjusting for inflation.

“This is hardly the picture of a health expenditure program growing out of control.

“PBS expenditure growth is at its lowest for more than 15 years. For a major healthcare program to achieve such minimal growth, while still providing universal access to the latest medicines is quite an extraordinary achievement.

“Treasury directly attributes the lower than expected growth over the forward estimates period to savings realised in the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement and pricing reforms contained in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government and Medicines Australia.”

Mr Delaat said that while Treasury expects the PBS to grow at just 2.1 per cent per annum over the forward estimates, it expects the Commonwealth’s total health budget to grow by 9.3 per cent per annum in real terms and Medicare expenses to grow by 3.3 per cent per annum.

“Now that the PBS genie is finally in the bottle we believe it is time to concentrate on improving access to medicines for Australian patients who need them,” Mr Delaat said.

The Australian Government spends less on medicines as a proportion of GDP than the OECD average.

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

A new report on cardiovascular disease (CVD) released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare underscores the importance of medicines in combating heart disease and keeping patients out of hospital, Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw said today. 

Cardiovascular disease: Australian facts 2011, published today, shows medicines are effectively treating or preventing heart disease in Australian patients.

“With appropriate medication patients with CVD, or those at risk of the disease, can improve their quality of life and increase their life expectancy,” the report says.

“The use of cardiovascular medicines and the adoption of lifestyle measures, such as regular exercise and a healthy diet, can reduce important CVD risk factors such as high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure.”

Dr Shaw said the study highlights the enormous benefit that cardiovascular medicines are delivering to ordinary Australian patients.

“This report shows that cardiovascular disease causes the most deaths in Australia and is our most costly disease, but also that medicines are contributing to a decline in death rates,” Dr Shaw said.

“One of the key reasons that Australians are less likely to die from cardiovascular disease today compared with 20 years ago is the range of cardiovascular medicines that the medicines industry has bought to market over that time”, Dr Shaw said.

“This is a classic example of how new technologies developed by the medicines industry have resulted in people living longer, healthier lives.

“You have a far greater chance of surviving cardiovascular disease today than you did 20 years ago. That is due in part to the investment the medicines industry has made in cardiovascular medicines and in part to the preparedness of successive governments to invest in such medicines”.

The study found that half of the annual cardiovascular disease expenditure of $5.9 billion per annum is spent on patients admitted to hospital, but that hospital stays are shortening.

“CVD patients are staying in hospital for shorter periods and the rate of deaths in hospital is declining,” it says.

The report also found that in 2008 over 137 million prescriptions for cardiovascular diseases medicines were supplied to the community. Blood-pressure-lowering medicines were the most commonly dispensed, followed by lipid-modifying medicines and anti-thrombotics.

Cardiovascular disease Australian facts 2011 is available at: http://aihw.gov.au/

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Fifteen medical sales representatives from Australian pharmaceutical companies received the industry’s top accolade for ethical sales and marketing at a ceremony in Sydney last night.

The Medicines Australia Continuing Education Program Awards are presented annually to sales representatives who achieve maximum marks in their compulsory ethics education program.

Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw said the mandatory program, developed by Medicines Australia and the University of Queensland, demonstrated the medicines industry’s commitment to ethical conduct.

“The program is designed to ensure medical representatives are educated to a recognised industry standard to provide healthcare professionals with accurate and balanced information in an ethical manner,” Dr Shaw said.

“I congratulate all students who completed the course and in particular this year’s award winners.

“The fact that so many students achieved the highest possible marks signals the importance that students and companies attach to ethical conduct.

The Awards were presented by Australian Medical Association President Dr Andrew Pesce and, representing the University of Queensland’s School of Pharmacy, Dr Harry Parekh.

The Medicines Australia Code of Conduct Award, for full marks in the Code of Conduct Program was presented to Paul Wilson (Janssen).

The Medicines Australia CEP Achievement Awards went to: Amy Beamish (AstraZeneca), Laura Boyd (Invida), Leonie Brown (Boehringer Ingelheim), Colin Clarke (AstraZeneca), Eritsa Cook (Servier), Michelle Dyson (Pfizer), Jonathan Koch (AstraZeneca), Pearl-Li Chong (MSD), Matthew Lisle (Novo Nordisk), Timothy Ludlow (GlaxoSmithKline), Lindsay Prodea (GlaxoSmithKline), Emma Rohrlach (Invida), Catherine Spencer (Amgen).

The UQ Health Insitu Active Learning Awards for the most active and best quality participation in online student group discussion were presented to Colin Clarke (AstraZeneca) and Deborah Motta-Marques (Allergan).

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

The release of the Federal Government’s Clinical Trials Action Group Report clears a path for Australia to become more competitive in attracting global R&D investment, Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw said today.

The Report was released at last night’s Medicines Australia Parliamentary dinner by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator Kim Carr.

The Clinical Trials Action Group was set up in October 2009 to help boost Australia’s position as a preferred destination to conduct clinical trials.

Dr Shaw welcomed the report, which carries more than 20 recommendations, largely aimed at improving patient recruitment and introducing a more efficient process of initiating new clinical trials in Australia.

“Medicines Australia strongly supports this report,” Dr Shaw said.

“The recommendations represent a precious opportunity for Australia to reinvigorate its $1 billion clinical trials industry and ensure we can better compete in the world market for R&D investment.

“Implementing these measures will help keep Australia at the forefront of medical research.

“I am greatly encouraged that the Government has set itself a deadline of July 2011 to implement many of the recommendations.

“This commitment should send a strong signal to investors that Australia wants to do business as a clinical trials destination.

“I hope we will soon start to see a turnaround in the recent decline in clinical trial numbers in Australia. This can only happen if Government sticks to its timeline.

“I welcome the Government’s commitment to support Australia’s clinical trials industry. I also congratulate and the Members of the Clinical Trials Action Group on a thorough and very constructive report.

“We look forward to working closely with the Australian Government to ensure the timely implementation of report’s recommendations.”

More than 18,000 Australian patients are given early access to innovative medicines and diagnostics through clinical trials each year.

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Banning patents on biological materials will harm Australian patients, destroy Australian jobs and stall medical research, Medicines Australia has told a Senate Committee.In its submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the Patent Amendment (Human Genes and Biological Materials) Bill 2010, Medicines Australia warned that the Bill could severely restrict patients’ access to biological medicines.

Medicines Australia submitted a list of 28 commonly prescribed biological medicines which potentially would never have been marketed in Australia had the proposed legislation been in place.

The medicines include Herceptin for breast cancer, Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis, Mabthera for leukaemia, Remicade for Crohn’s disease and Lucentis for macular degeneration.

“Had a ban on patents on biological materials been in place 10 years ago, Australians today would likely not have access to many of these medicines”, the submission says.

“These medicines would have been ineligible for patent protection and the companies which developed them would, in many cases, not have sought to market them in Australia.

“Biological medicines represent the cutting edge of medicine. They have already revolutionised the field and in time biological medicines are likely to deliver the most effective means of treating a variety of illnesses and disabilities.

“Over 250 innovative human-use biologics have been approved since 1990 and more than 400 are currently under development globally, targeting diseases such as cancer, AIDS, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”

Medicines Australia also warned of “devastating consequences for the Australian biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries” if biological patents were banned.

“A ban would invalidate patents on hundreds of products currently in development in Australia.

“This Bill is well-intentioned, but it is important to ensure that there are no unintended consequences for patients, businesses or medical researchers.”

A copy of the submission is available here

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Federal Government’s decision to block the listing of eight new medicines and vaccines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will hit patients’ hip pockets, Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw said today.

The decision followed a recommendation from the Government’s own clinical and health economics expert committee, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, that the medicines and vaccines should be subsidised on the PBS.

Dr Shaw said patients suffering from conditions such as schizophrenia, chronic disabling pain, lung disease and blood clots will have to pay up to $100 per month, instead of the PBS co-payment of $34.20.

“This will hit ordinary Australians where it hurts – at the hip pocket,” Dr Shaw said.

“The panel of expert clinicians and health economists have advised the Government that listing these medicines on the PBS represents value for money for the Government.

“The Government has listened to the advice of its own experts and decided not to take that advice. I think patients and the companies who have developed these medicines are owed a proper explanation.

“We should be a country that can afford to pay for the medicines that sick people need.

“Historically, medicines that carry a cost to Government of more than $10 million a year are reviewed by Cabinet. However, Cabinet has now intervened on the listing of medicines that fall well below that threshold.

“The introduction of an extra layer of bureaucracy is extremely alarming because it may translate to delays in patients getting access to medicines they need.

“This is the first time Cabinet has considered a positive recommendation by its own clinical and health economics experts and not accepted that recommendation.

“While we welcome the listing of some new medicines, the decision not to list others is extremely disappointing.”

The medicines and vaccines recommended for PBS listing by the PBAC and deferred by Cabinet are: Botox (severe sweating), Duodart (enlarged prostate), Invega sustenna (schizophrenia), Targin (chronic disabling pain), Symbicort (lung disease), Fragmin (blood clots), Synarel (IVF treatment) and Prevenar 13 catch-up (pneumococcal vaccine).

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw today set out four key policy priorities to arrest the decline in the number of clinical trials conducted in Australia.

The priorities, outlined at Research Australia’s pre-NSW election Policy Forum are:

• Release and implementation of the joint industry-Federal Government Clinical Trials Action Group’s recommendations to simplify and streamline the regulatory process for setting up clinical trials.
• Implementation of the R&D tax credit, currently before the Federal Parliament, which would reduce by up to 10 per cent the cost of eligible R&D.
• Rejection of the private members Bill in the Federal Parliament that proposes a ban on patents for biological materials, which would render industry funding of clinical trials untenable.
• Reversal of the NSW Government’s decision to double – from $10 million to $20 million – the minimum insurance cover for clinical trials in NSW.

Dr Shaw told the forum that the number of clinical trials conducted in Australia had declined for the past three years.

“Fundamentally, Australia has a fantastic capability in clinical trials that we can build on to develop and grow the nation’s medical research,” Dr Shaw said.

“However, there are a number of policy changes that need to occur to help ensure we stop the decline and retain industry-funded clinical trials in the future.

“We need to harmonise the ethics approval process for clinical trials. There are currently 200 sites in Australia where companies can get approval for clinical trials, each operating its own system. In the 21st century this is simply madness. The problem should have been fixed long ago.

“Australia has a terrific base to do clinical trials. It has great science, a highly skilled workforce, relatively innovative research infrastructure and a long tradition of excellence in medical research.

“We need to get the financial and regulatory settings right to ensure we can maintain and build on this base to the benefit of all Australians.”

There were 680 individual clinical trial notifications in Australia in 2009. Every year more than 18,000 Australians participate in clinical trials, providing them with early access to potentially life-saving treatments.

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Medicines Australia today made a cash contribution, on behalf of the Australian medicines industry, of $100,000 to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal to support those devastated by the floods in Queensland.

Chief Executive Dr Brendan Shaw extended his deepest sympathy, on behalf of the industry, to the victims of the floods.

“This has been a truly awful experience for anyone affected by these horrific floods,” Dr Shaw said.

“Our thoughts and sympathy go out to all who are suffering in the face of this devastating tragedy, particularly those who have lost friends or family members.”

Individual Medicines Australia member companies are making additional contributions to the disaster relief.

Medicines Australia has offered the Department of Health and Ageing any assistance that may be required to ensure the supply of medicines to flood-stricken areas is maintained.

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au

Government health expenditure should be regarded as a key investment in Australia’s ageing population and productivity rather than a burden on the public purse, Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw told the National Press Club today.

Speaking at the first National Press Club Health Forum, Dr Shaw said investment in innovative medicines and other health technologies will play an important role in ensuring Australia’s ageing population remains healthy and productive.

“We think of spending on education as an investment in productivity and workforce participation,” Dr Shaw said.

“Health spending is not often regarded the same way and it absolutely should be.

“Medical technologies like medicines and medical devices play an important role in improving the health of Australians as well as the economy.

“There is no doubt that one of the reasons why Australians are living longer, have a better quality of life and are actively involved in society is precisely because of this spending on medical technologies like medicines, devices and procedures.

“There are broad, economic and society-wide benefits coming from new medicines.

“Arthritis treatments will allow sufferers to continue working, where at the moment they can’t.

“Future treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease could have significant cost savings for the health system and carers.

“The top three medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stomach ulcers and age-related macular degeneration.

“Medicines keep patients out of hospital, shorten hospital stays when they are required, reduce the number of surgical procedures and delay the need for aged care.

“The chief problem is that the benefits of medical technology are not being given sufficient air time in the debate over health spending.

“Health budgets need to be managed, but health also offers great opportunities for society. We need to get the balance right.”

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Contact Person:

Jamie Nicholson
Media Communications Manager
Phone: 0419 220 293
Email: Jamie.Nicholson@medicinesaustralia.com.au