Price cuts mean Australia's PBS is sustainable, trade group argues

Yet more price cuts announced yesterday to come into effect on October 1 for 300 medicines reaffirms that Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is sustainable, according to the R&D based pharma trade group Medicines Australia.

“We have been saying for a long time that these cuts will continue and, frankly, it’s no surprise. Some arguments that have been made about generic medicine pricing are clearly outdated,” Brendan Shaw, Medicines Australia chief executive, said.

Generic medicines on the PBS will see price cuts of up to 62% on October 1 when the first round of simplified price disclosure takes effect.