Medicines Australia calls for improved access to cancer drugs at Australian Senate enquiry

Medical industry body Medicines Australia and other industry representatives have appeared before the Australian Senate inquiry into new, innovative and specialist oncology drugs in the country.

They called for improvements to create a  modern, flexible system which would ensure access to cancer therapies for Australians.

Tim James, chief executive of Medicines Australia, said in his opening statement to the committee: “Our ability to treat cancer is now far in advance of the system that was designed some time ago, arguably 20 years ago, to provide access to treatments. New, innovative and specialized medicines are a key driver of increases in patient survival, but the waiting time to list cancer medicines on the PBS [Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme] is taking too long. In fact, Australian patients wait six months longer for access to cancer medicines than other types of medicines, and on average 1.6 years from TGA registration to PBS listing. We believe cancer patients, namely the one in two Australians who will develop cancer during their lifetime, deserve better.”