Quest for profit keeps vital drugs off shelves

US law change puts lifesaving medicines out of reach

ALMOST 50 new medicines — many of them lifesaving — have been approved for government subsidy but never made it onto the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

And the problem is set to worsen under new reference pricing rules introduced in the US, which mean pharmaceutical companies will have no incentive to provide cheap drugs to Australians.

The 46 medicines include those used for treating people suffering from cancer, migraine and heart disease.

A government subsidy would slash the price of these medicines from as much as $6000 a month to $41.30 and $6.60 for pensioners.

In some cases the pharmaceutical companies abandoned their plans to list the medicines on Australia’s drug subsidy scheme because they could not get the price or conditions they wanted.

AstraZeneca rejected a government subsidy offer for their life-extending medicine Faslodex, leaving 500 terminally ill women facing bills of $1600 a month for the treatment.

Other medicines have been in limbo for up to 18 months after an expert government committee called for them to be funded, but the companies failed to submit the required paperwork.

Medicines Australia CEO Liz de Somer said this was because “even if they’re recommended there is something in the recommendation that the company either doesn’t agree with or can’t implement”.

The peak pharmaceutical lobby group warns there may be another reason companies are not listing their medicines on our subsidy scheme and it has to do with a change in US policy.

Under new reference pricing rules introduced by US President Donald Trump, Australians may have to wait months or years to get breakthrough new drugs.

Americans pay far higher prices for medicines than the rest of the world and under the Trump changes US medicine prices will now be benchmarked to prices charged for the same drugs elsewhere in the world.

This means if a pharmaceutical company agrees to sell their medicine at a low price in Australia under our subsidy scheme, they will have to charge Americans the same low price.

The US is a far bigger market than Australia and this would severely dent drug companies’ profits.

Ms de Somer said delays could be up to two years.

To address the looming problem, Australia will have to reassess how it values medicines, she said.