Medicines Australia chairman Will Delaat today presented Paul Smith of Australian Doctor with the Medicines Australia 2008 Health Journalist of the Year Award.

Mr Smith was named as one of the four category winners for his story Inside Out in The Australian Doctor magazine. His prize as overall winner is a study tour to the United States with a focus on the health industry.

Mr Delaat presented the award immediately prior to the National Australia Bank Address by Minister for Health & Ageing the Hon Nicola Roxon MP.

“This is a richly deserved award,” Mr Delaat said.

“Paul is a very worthy winner in a field which was of a particularly high standard this year.”

“For most Australians there is no more important issue than their health. Health journalists have a significant role in raising awareness of health-related issues. These awards recognise the importance of that role.”

The annual Excellence in Health Journalism Awards is hosted by the National Press Club of Australia. National Press Club President Ken Randall said “Australian Journalists and publishers have risen to the occasion with the submission of entries that importantly wereof high quality”.

Mr Randall also thanked the awards corporate supporters – Medicines Australia as Awards Principal sponsor, Medibank Private, CSIRO, Australian General Practice Network, Pfizer and Pharmacy Guild of Australia as supporting sponsors.

The full list of winners is:

BEST NEWS FEATURE / ARTICLE OR PRESENTATION

Health, Health Sciences or Innovation

Will Storr – Fairfax Good Weekend, TB or not TB

BEST DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

Health, Health Science or Innovation

Emma Cook – SBS TV, A hollow vision

BEST FEATURE / ARTICLE OR PRESENTATION

Health Policy, Health Economics and Health Business

Maryanne Demasi – ABC Catalyst, Magic bullet or clever con?

BEST NEWS FEATURE / ARTICLE OR PRESENTATION

For reporting on Health, Health Science or Innovation directed to medical professionals

Paul Smith – Australian Doctor, Inside Out.

HEALTH JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Awarded to the most outstanding entry among the winners of the previous four categories

Paul Smith – Australian Doctor

Media Enquiries:

Maurice Reilly
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Ph: +61 2 61212152 (direct)
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Medicines Australia has urged the Federal Government to continue with PBS reform to ensure that initiatives to improve access to new medicines for Australian patients are quickly implemented.

“A new era of the PBS starts today with major price reductions of up to 25 per cent for many older medicines on the PBS,” Ian Chalmers, Medicines Australia Chief Executive said today.

“But the challenge for PBS reform is to ensure that savings from these price reductions – at least $3 billion over ten years – are used to ensure Australians have access to new medicines in the future.

“PBS reform was always about using a more competitive generics market to guarantee that Australians will have access in the future to cutting edge therapies.

“PBS price cuts for older medicines commenced today. But the job is only half done because it’s not yet clear that Australians’ access to new medicines in the future is assured.

“Medicines Australia is working with the Federal Government through the Access to Medicines Working Group. It is hoped this collaboration will ensure future access to innovative new medicines for Australian patients.”

From today the price the Government pays for a range of generic and patent-expired originator medicines on the PBS will automatically fall by up to 25 per cent.

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Contact Person:

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

Medicines Australia today published its Code of Conduct Annual Report, which documents all determinations made by the independent Code of Conduct Committee during 2007-08.

The report includes the outcomes of the 52 complaints arising from the 14,633 educational events that made up the first educational events report, published in March 2008.

Of those 52 complaints, the Code of Conduct Committee found only 21 to be in breach of the Code of Conduct – a compliance rate of 99.8 per cent.

In addition to the complaints arising from the educational events report, the Annual Report lists 24 finalised complaints that were referred through other channels. In 2006/07 a total of 38 complaints were finalised.

Medicines Australia chief executive Ian Chalmers said the Code of Conduct Annual Report showed that overwhelmingly, member companies are committed to a very high ethical standard of corporate behaviour.

“More than 99.8 per cent of events included in the March 2008 educational event reports complied with the Code of Conduct,” Mr Chalmers said.

“This shows how seriously member companies take their responsibility to engage healthcare professionals in an ethical manner.

“Medicines Australia is disappointed by any breach of the Code of Conduct. We are aiming for 100 per cent compliance with the Code. Breaches can’t be tolerated and won’t be tolerated.”

The vast majority of breaches identified in the Annual Report were either referred by the independent educational event auditor, or were complaints brought by Medicines Australia member companies.

“This shows that we have in place a very rigorous and effective system of selfregulation. It’s independent, it’s transparent and it works,” Mr Chalmers said.

The Code of Conduct sets a high ethical standard for marketing and promotion of prescription pharmaceuticals.

The Annual Report is available from here

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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 Ian Chalmers today welcomed the findings of Australia’s Health 2008.

The report, published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, reaffirms the critical role of innovative new medicines in the healthcare system.

The study found that cholesterol lowering medication helps nearly two million people a day. Similarly, anti-depressants make a difference to the lives of 780,000 people every day.

According to the report, two children are diagnosed each day with Type 1 diabetes.

Every day 130 people aged 40 to 90 suffer a heart attack.

Mr Chalmers said the findings of Australia’s Health 2008 underscore the value of medicines, particularly in preventative health and in chronic disease management.

“This report demonstrates very clearly the enormous benefit that Australian patients gain from the appropriate use of prescription medicines,” Mr Chalmers said.

“We can see clear improvements in a number of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, where innovative medicines are having a significant impact.

“These findings reinforce the importance of the Government’s strong focus on preventative health and chronic disease in its approach to healthcare management.”

The report found also that Australia leads the world in vaccination, with 90 per cent of children fully immunised against preventable childhood diseases at age two. Two thousand infants receive a dose of the triple antigen vaccine to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and polio every day.

Other findings included improved survival rates for cancer and heart disease.

Mr Chalmers congratulated the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on compiling the report.

“I commend the Institute on the excellent job they have done in researching and compiling another comprehensive and extremely informative study on the health of all Australians,” Mr Chalmers said.

“These national health statistics provide all of us in the healthcare arena with a valuable perspective of the sector’s effectiveness in optimising patient health outcomes.”

Australia’s Health has been published biannually since 1988.

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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 Ian Chalmers has congratulated the Government on its establishment of a Pharmaceuticals Industry Strategy Group (PISG).

The initiative was announced by Senator Kim Carr, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. The Group will develop a strategic plan to increase investment in pharmaceuticals R&D, clinical trials and manufacturing in Australia. It will be cochaired by CSL chief executive Dr Brian McNamee.

Mr Chalmers said he was greatly encouraged by Senator Carr’s commitment to a sustainable future for the pharmaceuticals industry.

The Pharmaceuticals Industry Strategy Group will provide an opportunity to address the industry’s most urgent priorities and recommend an effective course of action for Government to consider, Mr Chalmers said.

“This is an opportunity for the pharmaceuticals industry and the Government to put together a strategic plan for the development of the industry in Australia.

“We need to make Australia a globally competitive destination for future investment in R&D, clinical trials and manufacturing of innovate products.”

Senator Carr announced that membership of the Group would include Mr Chalmers, AusBiotech chief executive Dr Anna Lavelle, and Generic Medicines Industry Association chief executive Ms Di Ford. The remaining membership will be finalised shortly.

The Pharmaceuticals Industry Strategy Group will report to the Government by the end of the year.

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Contact Person:

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

ontroversial Budget measure forcing the pharmaceutical industry to fund the Government’s own Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

While welcoming several health funding announcements in the Budget, Mr Chalmers said the Government’s move to recover the cost of the PBAC was inappropriate.

Mr Chalmers added that the imposition of cost recovery from 1 July 2008 gave pharmaceutical companies very little opportunity to make appropriate provisions in their annual budgets. Most Medicines Australia member companies operate calendar year budgets, with 2008 budgets already allocated.

“The implementation of cost recovery at such short notice will present a major challenge to companies,” Mr Chalmers said.

“Cost recovery is not a measure that is appropriate. The procurement of pharmaceuticals for the PBS is a government function and it’s unreasonable for industry to be expected to pay for the business of government.”

Mr Chalmers said cost-recovery was particularly unwelcome at a time when the innovative pharmaceutical industry in Australia is confronting some specific challenges.

“This measure comes on top of structural difficulties that the industry has had to deal with over the past few months,” Mr Chalmers said.

“Industry has had three manufacturing plant closures announced in the past 12 months, at a cost of some 500 jobs. As well as this, our member companies face major price cuts from 1 August 2008 as a result of PBS reforms.

“Australia is in a fierce global competition at the moment and it’s important for this country to have a policy environment that encourages investment by global head offices.”

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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 Ian Chalmers tonight welcomed the Government’s Budget announcement of a new $10 billion Health and Hospitals Fund.

The fund will be established to support health infrastructure priorities in key areas. It will ensure long-term funding for hospitals, medical technology and research facilities and projects.

Mr Chalmers said it was particularly encouraging that the Government was investing in major medical research facilities and equipment, including projects to support better links between hospital-based clinical research and high quality clinical practice.

Mr Chalmers also welcomed the range of Budget measures to tackle cancer. More than 88,000 Australians are diagnosed with cancer every year.

“It is pleasing that the Government has identified the fight against cancer as a national challenge,” Mr Chalmers said.

“Medicines Australia welcomes the Government’s commitment to supporting researchers, clinicians, practitioners and other health professionals involved in cancer research and treatment.

“The Government’s additional $15 million funding for cancer clinical trials is welcome, as is the $167m for replenishing Australia’s stockpile of pandemic vaccines.”

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Contact Person:

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

Medicines Australia has called on the Government to reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 per cent and set up an effective industry development program to secure the longterm viability of Australia’s $10 billion pharmaceuticals industry.

In a submission to the National Innovation System Review, Medicines Australia makes four recommendations to attract investment in innovation: development of an integrated, whole-of-government program to attract investment to Australia; encouragement of an internationally competitive tax regime; creation of a stronger IP regime; and action to address the skilled labour shortage.

The submission follows the establishment by the Innovation Minister, Senator Kim Carr, last month of an industry development working group to prepare a strategic plan for the pharmaceuticals industry.

Medicines Australia’s NIS Review submission outlines a series of key initiatives to support its four recommendations, including:

• Create an effective, integrated, whole-of-government program to attract investment in Australia
• Reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 per cent, phased in over three years
• Ensure Australia’s data exclusivity arrangements are equivalent to or better than those in competitor countries
• Create a National Fund for the Sciences which draws on public, private and
• philanthropic funds to endow university professorships.

Medicines Australia chief executive Ian Chalmers said that the innovative pharmaceuticals industry in Australia is at a crossroads and faces an uncertain future without sustained investment.

“Australia must seize the opportunity to become a robust and self-sustaining global pharmaceuticals hub by attracting global R&D and manufacturing investment,” Mr Chalmers said.

“Without that investment, we face the prospect of manufacturing and R&D capability being divested to regional competitors such as India, China and South America.

“These emerging economies are already offering considerable advantages to companies investing in manufacturing or R&D.”

Mr Chalmers said he hoped the NIS Review would help Australia become more internationally competitive.

“Australia faces a fierce global competition. It’s sink or swim, because treading water won’t be good enough,” he said.

“Strong action by overseas governments to attract investment dramatically increases the difficulties companies in Australia face in persuading global head offices to commit new investment here.

“Australia exports $3.9 billion of locally manufactured and value-added pharmaceuticals a year – second only to the car industry. However, those levels can’t be sustained without a strong Government commitment to high-technology manufacturing.”

Medicines Australia’s submission to the NIS Review complements that of the Pharmaceuticals Industry Council, an alliance of the innovative, generic and biotech pharmaceuticals industries.

Medicines Australia member companies are engaged in the research, development, manufacture, supply and export of prescription medicines. Those companies account for more than 80 per cent of sales of prescription medicines in Australia.

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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 Ian Chalmers today congratulated the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon MP, and the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, on their joint announcement that the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group (PIWG) would be reconvened.

The joint announcement was made in Canberra today at AusPharma08, the industry conference for Medicines Australia members.

“It gives us a strategic platform to discuss industry policy directly with the two Ministers of most importance in the pharmaceutical policy arena,” Mr Chalmers said.

“This direct dialogue is immensely important. There are key policy changes under consideration by the Government.

“The Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group provides industry with the opportunity to propose ideas, debate and collaborate constructively and directly with the Ministers.”

PIWG has brought together industry expertise from Medicines Australia, the Generic Medicines Industry Association, AusBiotech and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

The group provides a platform for the industry to engage strategically with Government to ensure an environment that encourages investment in innovation in Australia.

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Contact Person:

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

Medicines Australia today set a global precedent for the pharmaceutical industry by publishing the details of medical education events held or sponsored by its member companies.

The report shows that 14,633 educational events for doctors and other healthcare professionals were held or sponsored by 42 Medicines Australia member companies during the six months to 31 December 2007 (see backgrounder). Subsequent reports will be published every six months.

Medicines Australia chief executive Ian Chalmers said he hoped the publication of the report would help the public better understand the pharmaceutical industry’s role in medical education.

“The Australian pharmaceutical industry is now the global leader in terms of transparency and accountability,” Mr Chalmers said.

“I hope the publication of this report gives the community a better sense of the contribution the pharmaceutical industry makes to our healthcare system by saving, improving or prolonging the lives of Australians.

“Pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to ensure that doctors are kept informed about any new or improved use of prescription medicines. Medicines used properly provide the best patient outcomes.

“No one knows more about pharmaceuticals than the people who make them, so dialogue between those who manufacture medicines and those who prescribe them is critically important to all Australian patients.”

The cost of hospitality (travel, accommodation and catering) listed in the Medicines Australia report is $16.4 million. The total cost of events, including hospitality, speaker costs, event organisational costs, venue hire and other related expenses is $31 million.

The total number of attendances is 385,221, with an average hospitality cost of $43 per head.

All educational events in the Medicines Australia report have been independently reviewed by the international consulting firm Deloitte.

Mr Chalmers announced today that as a result of the independent review, 52 medical education events would be investigated for possible breaches of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct.

Events which have been assessed as potentially in breach of the Code have been forwarded to an independent Code of Conduct Committee for formal investigation.

The result of the independent investigation, together with details of any sanctions imposed on companies, will be made public after the complaints process has been finalised.

“There is a robust and independent complaints process in place, authorised by the ACCC. That process must be allowed to run its course,” Mr Chalmers said.

“Only 52 of more than 14,000 educational events in the report have been referred for independent investigation, which means more than 99.6 per cent of events were compliant with the Code.

“However, Medicines Australia has a zero-tolerance approach to breaches of the Code of Conduct, a position fully supported by every member company. The innovative pharmaceutical industry is committed to the highest standard of corporate ethical behaviour.

“The Code of Conduct is clear on medical education events. Personal gifts are banned. Entertainment is banned. Lavish meals are banned,” Mr Chalmers said.

Companies found to have breached the Code of Conduct face fines of up to $200,000 per breach.

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Media Backgrounder.

Why pharmaceutical companies provide medical education events

Pharmaceutical companies have an obligation to ensure all healthcare professionals have access to the latest information about prescription medicines.

One of the ways this information is conveyed is though educational events provided for doctors by pharmaceutical companies. These events can range from small meetings in surgeries to evening briefings over dinner, to a weekend conference for hundreds of healthcare professionals.

No one knows medicines as well as those who make them. That is why healthcare decisions affecting Australian patients must be informed by ethical dialogue between those who make pharmaceuticals and those who prescribe, dispense or administer them.

Why Medicines Australia is publishing this information

Medicines Australia has been required by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to publish the detail of educational events provided or sponsored by Medicines Australia member companies. This requirement was a condition of the ACCC in authorising the latest edition of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct.

The transparent reporting of industry-wide data represents a global precedent for the pharmaceutical industry, and one which Medicines Australia fully supports.

Non-members of Medicines Australia were not required to publish the details of their educational events.

Medicines Australia Code of Conduct

All educational events sponsored or provided by Medicines Australia member companies are subject to the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is authorised by the ACCC and is updated regularly. It sets the standard for the ethical marketing and promotion of medicines.

Under the Code, the provision of gifts to doctors is banned. Entertainment is banned. The provision of lavish hospitality is banned.

Breaching the Code of Conduct

Where a breach of the Code of Conduct is suspected, a complaint can be lodged with the Code of Conduct Committee, an independent body chaired by a trade practices lawyer.

Companies found to have breached the Code of Conduct can be fined up to $200,000.

Key industry facts

• The Australian pharmaceuticals industry turned over $17 billion in 2005-06.
• The Australian pharmaceuticals industry invested $752 million in R&D in 2005-06.
• The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme paid $6.45 billion in benefits for listed medicines in 2007.
• More than 2600 prescription medicines are available on the PBS, and advances in medicine are constant.
• In the last two years alone, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee has recommended 119 items for listing on the PBS (05-06 and 06-07).

Contact Person:

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