Secret drugs out of reach

Exclusive

THE SUNDAY TERRITORIAN can today reveal the secret list of medicines approved for government subsidy but have never made it on to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Tens of thousands of patients with cancer, arthritis and other diseases are missing out on breakthrough new medicines approved for government subsidy despites assurances from Health Minister Greg Hunt that he would approve their listing.

Mr Hunt has repeatedly promised “if the medical experts, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory recommends the listing of a medicine – we will list that medicine”.

Today’s special investigation has listed the medicines approved by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Council that are not subsided.

This includes a $48,000 prostate cancer drug that could help thousands of men and extend their life by more than 30 per cent.

It’s just one of a dozen medicines approved for reimbursement that have never made it on to the nation’s medicine subsidy scheme.

Our investigation has found many medicines are never subsidised because the pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs have failed to reach an agreement with the Health

Department on how much they will be paid for the medicine.

As a result they have decided not to supply the medicine under our subsidy scheme.

Drugs denied a subsidy include the breakthrough prostate cancer drug Xofigo, which could benefit 3500 Australian men with castration-resistant cancer.

Xofigo was first recommended for public subsidy by the Medical Services Advisory

Committee in April 2014 and again by the PBAC in November 2017.

A spokesman for Mr Hunt said, by law for a medicine to be listed the expert PBAC had to recommend it and the sponsor had to accept its conditions.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Bowen said: “The Minister falsely claims that the Government lists every drug when the reality is patients are missing out. This is not acceptable.”

Rheumatoid arthritis: Sarilumab (Kevzara) by SanofiAventis, Adalimumab (Humira) by AbbVie 20mg and 40mg Anaphylaxis: Adrenaline (adrenaject) by Sun Pharma, Adrenaline (Adrenaline autoinject Sun-JV) by Ranbaxy Melanoma: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) 50mg by MSD Prostate cancer: Radium 223 (Xofigo) by Bayer