PBS cuts wil cost Australia's pharma industry A$175M

PBS cuts will cost Australia's pharma industry A$175M

The Australian federal government's decision to cut its investment in  the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will undermine commercial certainty  for the country's drug industry, warned Medicines Australia's chief  executive Ian Chalmers. The announcement of further savings measures in  the federal budget will cost the industry A$175.0 million ($132.8  million) over five years, the trade group noted.

"Australia's pharmaceuticals industry is already confronting a very  challenging operating environment. Now the government is extracting  savings from Australian health care companies at the very time when it  should be investing in this industry. Implementation of this proposed  measure will likely result in declining revenues and job losses," Mr  Chalmers argued. "Medicines Australia had already agreed to the  government's 2007 PBS reforms, which were designed to deliver pricing  certainty and stability in exchange for massive price reductions already  being implemented. This measure undermines that certainty," he stressed.