Patients move to reclaim access agenda ahead of sector negotiations

The minister's reference to the US and broader international pressures belies the reality that the situation currently confronting MS patients relates to the demanded price reduction triggered by Australia's domestic policies.

The Parliamentary Budget Office’s 2026–27 Medium‑Term Budget Outlook paints a cautious picture for health, disability and medicines spending, with doubts over the budgeted savings for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

“This isn't simply a cancer story. It's an equity story,” said Meredith Cummins, CEO of NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia. “Where you live, how far you are from specialist care, and your socioeconomic circumstances are increasingly influencing outcomes for people diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer.”

Thirteen representatives from government, industry, clinical care, research and patient advocacy met to identify practical actions to strengthen Australia’s paediatric oncology clinical trial ecosystem and attract greater investment so children and young people can access innovative therapies.

Sydney-based Viral Vector Manufacturing Facility and Melbourne-headquartered Mirugen have signed a non-exclusive Letter of Intent to evaluate and potentially develop the company's AAV-based gene therapy candidate targeting Retinitis Pigmentosa.

A trip through a US supermarket or large retail outlet often takes you past a bank, an optometrist, a pharmacy, and sometimes insurance counters. These shops in the US are generally larger and configured to offer these multiple services. Australian supermarkets are typically smaller, and recent retail trends indicate they are shrinking further as retailers optimise floor plans for high‑margin groceries. Simply slotting a pharmacy into that footprint is neither straightforward nor, in most cases, practical. 

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has rejected the latest report from the Grattan Institute, arguing the analysis misunderstands the role of community pharmacies and risks undermining equitable access to medicines and primary care.

While Australia is debating whether to fund weight-loss medication for a group of very sick people, one American thought leader argues against rationing innovations that are having a profoundly positive impact on quality of life.

This report is an out-of-touch, selectively sourced exercise in policy obsession, with Europe of all places, that ignores the one place where pharmacy supermarkets are common and the overwhelming success of a critical piece of Australia's public health infrastructure.

Another stage in the Delphi studies is the latest equivalent of a menu in a Soviet-era restaurant. This is your choice. Permitted responses are limited to 'yes or no'. No other options will be considered. After almost 1,800 days, we are playing word games over technical inputs that were identified as issues before the review was announced.

Mesoblast Chief Executive Dr Silviu Itescu said, “We are very pleased with the strong uptake of Ryoncil since launch, and with revenues that have already exceeded our initial projections.”

If there’s one thing to say about the PBS, it’s that public debate around the program has long been stagnant. Narrowly focused on process and technical inputs for too long. It has been the policy equivalent of a stagnant body of water.

The MS medicines controversy continues. Why wouldn’t the minister just deal with it and make it go away? It may not be that easy. Why any resolution will probably deal with symptoms rather than the cause. The realities of ministerial offices and the challenges they face that are not visible to outsiders. Another 'phrase of the week' is dissected to reveal its true meaning.

New research commissioned by GSK Australia suggests many Australians aged 65 years and over do not recognise how seriously respiratory syncytial virus could potentially impact them, despite considering it a serious condition.

Researchers in Melbourne have reported an association between the radiation dose tumours receive during radiopharmaceutical therapy and progression-free survival in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer.

Officials could communicate the committee's advice from the meeting, as has happened in the past, and the minister could act accordingly. That could involve accepting the advice, making a decision to ensure patients maintain reimbursed access, as he has prioritised, or both. Probably best to resolve it quickly for patients.

A $680,000 partnership between Diabetes Australia, Lilly Australia and the Menzies School of Health Research will expand a digital health platform aimed at improving care for people with diabetes, kidney and cardiovascular disease across the Northern Territory.

Illumina has appointed Susan Martin as General Manager for Australia and New Zealand, strengthening the company’s regional leadership as it pushes to integrate genomics more broadly into clinical care.

When he was announcing the PBS listing of one of these at-risk MS medicines late last year, having presumably been told that any price reduction would put it at risk, officials were probably well and truly in the process of manoeuvring the provider of another off-patent medicine brand into accepting an almost 50 per cent cut.

Health Minister Mark Butler has said the government is not attempting to price two recently listed medicines at the same level as old off-patent treatments, and has reminded officials and the PBAC that he expects them to remain on the PBS.