Government scraps October timeline after accepting ATAGI advice

Dr Brendan Shaw says the negotiation of new industry agreements is hampered by a lack of ambition or willingness to consider system-level change.

Merck and the Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association are the latest to question the federal government's move to scrap confidentiality protections for sponsors of PBAC submissions.

The claim the publication of PBAC PSDs is an obligation under the US-Australia FTA is as wrong as suggesting the industry was extensively consulted over the removal of submission sponsor confidentiality.

In no way does this Bill increase the transparency of PBS decision-making processes. All it does is increase the government's right to make company information transparent.

The number of COVID-19 vaccines administered globally has topped 704 million across 153 countries, according to Bloomberg. The latest daily rate of doses administered is 16.1 million.

The change will give the government the lawful power to unilaterally release any information provided by a sponsor, including prices that will no longer be protected.

In the second in a two-part series, the Pharmacy Guild's Trent Twomey discusses the need for reform of opiate dependence therapy, out-of-pocket costs and expresses concern over the challenge companies face in navigating the PBS-listing process.

The industry and advocacy groups are lining up to challenge the federal government's attempt to legislate away confidentiality provisions for PBAC submission sponsors.

The Department of Health is attempting to amend the National Health Act 1953 to remove the right of companies to claim confidentiality over their PBAC submissions.

In the first of a two-part series, the recently appointed national president of the Pharmacy Guild, Trent Twomey, discusses his own background, his plan and priorities, as well as what makes the organisation so effective and understanding the difference between access and influence.

Pharmacy Guild national president Trent Twomey has challenged the delay in involving pharmacy in the rollout of the COVID-19 national immunisation program and questioned the government's decision to appoint Linfox as a distributor.

The Biden Administration has released its first National Trade Estimate Report and it has taken a more positive tone to Australia on intellectual property protection but restated criticism of New Zealand's PHARMAC.

An in-depth analysis of the first weeks of Australia's COVID-19 national immunisation program shows the rollout is behind Israel, the US and UK, but broadly in line with the experience of Canada, South Korea and the European Union.

It is almost as if the rollout plan has been adjusted to match the federal government's language rather than the other way around.

The so-called 'rules' on redactions for Public Summary Documents have 'zero' basis in law and they are trumped every time by the legal protections afforded sponsors of PBAC submissions.