Pharmacy Daily | $70m in new Sep listings

HEALTH minister Sussan Ley says the government is continuing to add expensive new medicines to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme “without fear or favour,” including the $60 million listing of Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of cervical cancer. Yesterday Ley announced a range of Sep listings which also include “revolutionary new diabetes treatment” Bydureon (exanatide) which is a once weekly injection to treat type 2 diabetes. As well as seeing patients only having to inject themselves once a week rather than twice daily, the exanatide listing will also save sufferers over $1600 annually. Other diabetes listings next month include Trajenta (linagliptin) and Trajentamet (lingliptin with meformin) as well as Galvus (vildagliptin) and Galvumet (vildagliptin with metformin). The diabetes additions to the PBS are on a cost-neutral basis as an alternative to existing treatments. The big ticket items on the Sep PBS include the Avastin listing which Ley said would help save the lives of more than 200 women who aren’t responding to other cervical cancer treatments. Previously Avastin was out of reach for most at a cost of $55,000 per course of treatment. The government is also funding Signifor (pasireotide) to the tune of $10 million, for patients suffering from the rare growth hormone condition Acromelagy. Ley said it was vital to continue improving the health system so new medications can be listed. “Every dollar spent on inefficiency in the health system is a dollar we cannot invest in cures like these.”

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