Nine news Rx drugs added to Australian PBS listings

Australia’s Federal Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek, yesterday announced the listing of nine prescription medicines on the nation’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The combined cost of the new medicines and additional Medicare Benefits Schedule items is A$141 million ($151 million) over five years, she said, but adding: “The PBS listings are subject to final arrangements being met by the suppliers of the medicines before they can be listed.”

The nine new PBS listings are:

Brilinta (ticagrelor) for acute coronary syndrome, manufactured by Astra Zeneca;
Zinnat (cefuroxime axetil), an antibiotic from GlaxoSmithKline;
Sprycel (dasatinib) for chronic myeloid leukemia, from Bristol-Myers Squibb;
Tasigna (nilotinib) for chronic myeloid leukemia, from Novartis;
Fragmin (dalteparin sodium), an anti-coagulant from Pfizer;
Flolan (epoprostenol sodium) for pulmonary arterial hypertension, from GlaxoSmithKline;
Kapanol (morphine sulphate) for pain management, from GlaxoSmithKline;
Actemra (tocilizumab) for juvenile arthritis, from Roche Products; and
Orencia (abatacept) for rheumatoid arthritis, from Bristol-Myers Squibb.