Industry involvement in panel for Australia's Life Saving Drugs Program

The Australian government has said that its establishment of an expert panel for the Life Saving Drugs Program (LSDP) will improve the scheme’s ability to provide free medicines for rare and life-threatening diseases to those who need them.

Medicines Australia, a trade group which represents pharma companies in the country, agreed the panel’s formation with the government earlier this year to improve the administration of the program.

Chaired by Australia’s former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Tony Hobbs, the panel will include clinical experts, a health economist, patient advocate and industry-nominated representative Liliana Bulfone.

Medicines funded on the LSDP include some high-cost medicines that do not meet the criteria to be funded on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), the program through which drugs are normally funded in Australia.