News of the Day

AbbVie's Kirsten O'Doherty, Pfizer's Melissa McGregor and Kathy Connell of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, discuss why companies focus on diversity, why some may not, and how PAGE has uncovered different attitudes and experiences across the sector.

Prime minister Scott Morrison has set out his expectation of the public service but said it needs to look beyond the "highly organised and well-resourced interests in our democracy" when it comes to stakeholder engagement.

The industry backs greater transparency in public summary documents but has warned the current proposed changes risk undermining PBAC decision-making - BioPharmaDispatch explores these concerns and the ramifications.

The emergence of regenerative medicine has a number of implications for the health system - some known, some unknown.

A new report has highlighted the shift from 'one-size-fits-all treatments' to 'personalised interventions' based on individual patient biology and genetics as a major trend in Australia's health system over the next two decades.

The global Alliance for Regenerative Medicines, a global advocacy group for advanced therapies, has released the results of its quarterly overview of the sector.

The report from IQVIA - International Comparisons of Modern Medicines’ (ICoMM) Report - compares access to new medicines in Australia and New Zealand to other countries.

The research-based sector will argue any decision to maintain the secrecy of generic and biosimilar evaluations is discriminatory because it provides a commercial benefit and even a degree of legal protection to one part of the sector.

Gilead has been recognised by the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) for the second year running in the Bronze Small Employer category for excellence in LGBTI workplace inclusion.

One of the more spurious and naive arguments proffered by the industry's antagonists and even some people in government is that the pricing of new treatments should reflect whether public funding contributed in any way to its development.

Any focus on the cost of treatment is incredibly misguided when it comes to personalised medicines because it belies the reality of what they will provide - governments will be paying for less failure and the potential for cures will mean patients will be treated with fewer therapies. 

"As well, there has been a slow-down in the uptake of testing and treatment overall in the past 12 months. These issues will be a focus of Australia’s efforts going forward," says a new national report on Australia's goal to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030.