Australian patients to benefit from new PBS listings; OTC reforms

The listing of 11 prescription medicines on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) has been announced by the Federal Minister for Health Tanya Plibersek, which will benefit some 45,000 patients through new, cheaper medicines, she said.

“The listing of these medicines on the PBS will offer patients access to new, affordable treatments which will directly benefit their health,” said Ms Plibersek, noting that the new listings would include an important new treatment for Australians with cystic fibrosis. “Mannitol (Bronchitol) is an innovative treatment developed by an Australian pharmaceutical company, Pharmaxis, in an easy-to-use, portable inhaler,” she said.

The decision to list aflibercept (Eylea) will benefit patients who have not previously received treatment for age-related macular degeneration, she added. “This listing of aflibercept (Eylea) will reduce the number of visits to the doctor that some patients need to make to receive the injections, from every month to every two months,” Ms Plibersek said. “Patients would have to pay more than $13,000 per year for this medicine without subsidised access through the PBS,” she noted.