PHARMACEUTICAL Benefits Scheme (PBS) data for the financial year 2024-25 has revealed some new entries in the top 10 most expensive drugs in terms of cost to government, with COVID antivirals dropping out.
Number one by some margin was cancer drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), costing over $680 million for around 80,000 prescriptions.
Cystic fibrosis treatment elexacaftor tezacaftor ivacaftor (Trikafta) was in second place at $618 million for 29,000 prescriptions, the most costly top 10 drug per prescription.
New entries in the list were type 2 diabetes drug semaglutide (Ozempic), costing $341 million as supply shortages resolved, and JAK inhibitor upadacitinib (Rinvoq), which is used to treat autoimmune diseases, at $287 million.
COVID antivirals molnupiravir (Lagevrio) and nirmatrelvir/ ritonavir (Paxlovid) dropped from the top 10 this year.
Blood thinner apixaban (Eliquis), which cost $282 million, made the list through sheer weight of numbers, with over 4.3 million prescriptions.
The remaining drugs were autoimmune disease anti-inflammatory biologic ustekinumab (e.g. Stelara); osteoporosis drug denosumab (e.g. Prolia); asthma and eczema anti-inflammatory dupilumab (Dupixant); cancer immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo); and aflibercept (Eylea and Zaltrap) used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration and metastatic colorectal cancer.
Meanwhile, the top 10 drugs by daily dose comprised cholesterol-lowering rosuvastatin and atorvastatin; hypertension/ heart medications perindopril, amlodipine, candesartan, telmisartan and ramipril; SSRI antidepressants escitalopram and sertraline; and type 2 diabetes drug metformin. KB
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