Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme 'is sustainable'

Medicines Australia, the representative body for the Australian pharma industry, says that the latest figures confirm that Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is sustainable.

The final Budget papers released today show that forecast PBS spending has been continuously revised down year on year since 2011, and the final PBS outcome is A$2.56 billion ($1.83 billion) below the original forecast in May 2011.

Tim James, chief executive of Medicines Australia, said: “These figures confirm that the PBS is on a sustainable path. The further A$6.6 billion of reforms announced in this year’s Budget will continue to drive PBS spending down and we are yet to precisely see how these changes will impact on the Budget going forward. The policy reforms up to now have made the PBS sustainable so that the government can continue to provide Australians with access to the latest available medicines. However, ongoing changes to PBS policy make it difficult for the inventors and makers of medicine to invest in Australia with confidence. A period of policy stability would allow the industry to work with the government to realize the potential of the local innovative medicines sector.”