Owen Smith: 'We are ready to negotiate. We are ready to be a genuine partner'

Liz Selby, Country Lead for Sanofi Australia and New Zealand, said, "Despite progress in relapsing remitting MS treatments, there remains a significant burden on people with nrSPMS who have limited treatment options to manage their disease progression."

Australia’s growing strength in translational science took centre stage at the second annual Translational Science Hub Symposium in Queensland, where more than 180 researchers, industry leaders and policymakers gathered to highlight how discovery is being turned into real-world patient impact.

A new partnership between Rare Cancers Australia, Ramsay Health Care and GenesisCare aims to make it easier for Australians living with rare and less common cancers to find vital treatment information and support services.

Sandoz has welcomed the Albanese Government’s decision in the 2026-27 Budget to consult on options to change prescribing practices for biosimilars, describing the process as an opportunity to improve affordability and access.

Leaders from Australia’s medical technology sector have gathered in Perth for AusMedtech 2026 to explore innovation, translation and commercialisation across the medtech ecosystem.

Last week's Budget revealed that negotiations for new industry agreements and the content they will include have been underway for some time. It has just been an internal political and bureaucratic process that is about to be expanded to include the industry.

That puts the research-based sector in a difficult spot. Will it pay, in explicit savings drawn from the existing pool of funded medicines and technologies, for the privilege of faster, allegedly lighter-touch assessment pathways for a handful of new 'unicorn' therapies? Is it worth it?

In its report, the Committee urged clear, practical expansions of access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM), insulin pumps and GLP‑1 medicines. The Government acknowledges these concerns but stops far short of any commitment.

The Albanese Government confirmed its decision to defer the bigger decisions, or any decisions, on the Health Technology Assessment Review and signalled a push to lock in new cost‑recovery and agreement arrangements within the next 12 months. A vaguely worded commitment on biosimilars.

There are enough measures and signals in this week's Budget to suggest medicines, vaccines and other technologies were discussed extensively in the process leading up to Tuesday's announcement. It might also help explain Health Minister Mark Butler's annoyance at one organisation's response. A Government response to a parliamentary inquiry triggered another odd response from stakeholder groups.

Measures could include modest additional funding for the Health Department to prepare to implement new processes or provide support. It might not. 

Gordon Naylor, who stepped into the interim chief executive role in February, has completed a 90-day review and set out a plan to accelerate the company’s transformation.

Dr Ross Murdoch joins the board as an independent non-executive director, bringing more than 30 years of global pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience, as well as direct involvement in neurology and neurodegenerative disease programs.

Presenting the Budget forecast as evidence of falling pharmaceutical spending misrepresents how the forecasts are constructed and undermines the credibility of those who make that claim.

The minister cannot simply launch a negotiation that might commit the Commonwealth to certain things, any more than he can unilaterally choose to implement the HTA Review. The Cabinet needs to authorise it.

One week to go until the annual BPDInsights meeting, and this year’s program opens on a powerful human note with two patients sharing lived experiences of navigating Australia’s health system.

On 1 July 2026, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Community Service Obligation will undergo what might be the most profound change since its creation in 2006.

In this week's episode, the focus is on the latest example of no progress on reform, the mindset and intransigence it reveals, the repeated pattern, and the early evidence that it would always end this way. Can it be an opportunity? Next week's Budget is upon us, and the discussion focuses on what to look for, that just because it is not in there, does not mean it is not in there, and why gaining any cut-through will be a real challenge.

Officials will use participation as evidence that the process was inclusive and broadly supported. That claim provides procedural cover for inaction, allowing officials to present incremental adjustments as stakeholder-supported reform. The Delphi studies will be weaponised as a durable rhetorical shield against renewed scrutiny. There are options.