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<\/a><\/p>\nOpposition leader Peter Dutton immediately backed the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe support affordable medicines,\u201d he told radio 2GB.<\/p>\n
On complaints from US pharmaceutical companies about the PBS, the Prime Minister seized on the chance for a fight.<\/p>\n
The PBS, he said was \u201ca monument to the fairness at the heart of Australian life and we don\u2019t negotiate our values.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PBS is political gold. Supporting it is a \u2018no brainer\u2019 for a federal politician.<\/p>\n
Yet, five months on that threat from the US, has only intensified and it may yet test Australia\u2019s love for the scheme.<\/p>\n
For President Donald Trump, high prescription drug costs in America have become a cause.<\/p>\n
Last month, the White House announced the President had written to 17 drug company CEOs demanding guarantees \u201cthey will not offer other developed nations better prices for new drugs than prices offered in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a Trump White House fact sheet, \u201cAmericans are subsidising drug-manufacturer profits and foreign health systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement did not mention Australia\u2019s PBS, but if the White House staff had wanted an example, it would have been an obvious candidate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PBS is a cornerstone of our Medicare system\u201d according to Medicines Australia CEO, Liz de Somer, though that\u2019s where her applause for the scheme ends.<\/p>\n
Medicines Australia is the industry body representing many of the same pharmaceutical giants now targeted by the Trump White House.<\/p>\n
![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2ea60e1ef344200475d8e5960ece0c5e8e867e79.jpg\")
President Donald Trump. Credit: Jae C. Hong\/AP<\/p>\n
According to Liz de Somer \u201cwe\u2019re lagging behind other countries in the time it takes to make new medicines available on the PBS.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now taking an average of 466 days for a new innovative medicine to be listed on the PBS, and that\u2019s after it\u2019s already been deemed safe and effective by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know these drugs are safe, we know they\u2019re effective, but the government has not yet decided to purchase them and make them subsidised for patients. They take too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Medicines Australia wants the 466 days average drug listing time, reduced dramatically – to just sixty days.<\/p>\n
That would likely mean dramatically reducing the time taken by the government and companies to negotiate a price for their medicines. The end result could easily be a bigger bill for the Australian taxpayer. Currently, the PBS costs about $14 billion a year to run.<\/p>\n
Of course, there is a human cost to delaying approval for medicines.<\/p>\n
Medicines Australia points to the \u201cmany, many cancer medicines that are not available for patients\u201d in Australia.<\/p>\n
According to Liz de Somer: \u201cWe are getting one in four innovations listed on our PBS at the moment. That\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that people are waiting for these medicines. We know that they can see they\u2019re available in other countries, and they don\u2019t understand why they\u2019re not made available here.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is an obvious profit motive for pharmaceutical companies in getting listed sooner and selling their product more quickly, but delays in the system have a human cost.<\/p>\n
The Albanese government is currently considering recommendations to reform the scheme including measures designed to speed the process.<\/p>\n
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