For almost all of the last 40 years, Governments have aimed to make medicines less affordable, for everyone but them

In the first 2026 episode of Dispatched, we discuss perceptions, Australian health policy, highlighting newly accessible 2005 Cabinet papers and what they reveal about PBS reforms, generic pricing, pharmacy agreements and the influence of central agencies like Finance. They warn that today’s reviews, statutory pricing and cost-recovery debates must be viewed as an interconnected agenda. 

New Zealanders living with cystic fibrosis are a step closer to broader and more effective treatment options following a provisional reimbursement agreement between Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Pharmac.

NERLYNX is being made available in Thailand by an Australian-headquartered company, Specialised Therapeutics, under an exclusive licensing arrangement. The therapy was approved by the TGA in 2019 but is not reimbursed via the PBS.

That emphasis was reinforced by AusBiotech Chief Executive Rebekah Cassidy, who highlighted the role of structured engagement in lifting the collective voice of the sector.

The PBS is quietly cannibalising itself. As more of the medicine spending shifts to patients, the system is losing the very public funding base it needs to remain affordable, equitable, and innovative. Put simply, it needs more money.

The trial’s participants were enrolled not only in the United States but also at sites in Australia, where investigators and healthcare teams contributed to the study’s conduct and follow-up.

“Australia has built a world-class environment for innovative research,” said Dr Kathryn Evans, General Manager, argenx Australia.

The Australian company has closed the 2025 financial year, having met its upgraded revenue guidance, underscoring the accelerating commercial momentum of its precision medicine portfolio and the growing impact of its U.S. expansion strategy.

As Australia’s life sciences sector deepens its global engagement, the need to manage foreign interference risks has become an increasingly important consideration for organisations operating across borders.

The fourth in this week’s series, building on earlier pieces, brings the focus squarely onto the PBS, arguing that spending on medicines has not truly slowed, but has shifted decisively from government to consumers, reshaping how the PBS functions, what it can fund, and the policy choices now confronting decision-makers.

New Zealand has focused on building structural and advisory readiness before committing funding, while Australia has recently moved to bring weight-loss medicines into its public system, albeit under very tight access controls.

Victoria Jordan, Value and Access Policy Director at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, argues in an article for the organisation that the framing misses a far more important part of the picture. 

Out-of-pocket spending on prescription medicines varies markedly across high-income countries, and, by international standards, Australia imposes a comparatively high direct cost burden on patients within a system nominally universal.

Consider a representative Australian household comprising two adults and two children, living on the median disposable household income, how their spending on medicines may have changed over the past decade, and the affordability challenge they face compared to many others.

Sanofi has officially opened the doors to its new Australia and New Zealand headquarters at International Towers, Barangaroo in Sydney, marking a new chapter for the company in the region.

Beneath a comforting narrative about the 'universal' PBS lies an uncomfortable reality of a program that has undergone a profound and largely unexamined transformation, with tens of millions of prescriptions moving off subsidy.

For the sixth consecutive year, Boehringer Ingelheim has been recognised as a Top Employer in Australia and New Zealand.

Prescription medicines sit at the core of US President Donald Trump’s 'Great Healthcare Plan', positioned as a vehicle to deliver cost relief to American consumers.

AbbVie is preparing to enter a new chapter in Australia, announcing plans to relocate its Sydney operations to a new headquarters in the heart of the CBD in late 2026.

Anne Harris will step down as Managing Director of Pfizer Australia and New Zealand, marking the close of a 26-year chapter marked by crisis leadership, industry influence, and sustained advocacy for patient access to innovative medicines.