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April 24, 2026 \u2014 5:46pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n An estimated 450,000 Australians will miss out on discounted weight loss medication after pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly declined a recommendation to have the government subsidise its Mounjaro drug for people with Type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended on Friday that tirzepatide, a once-weekly injectable medication sold as Mounjaro, be subsidised for adult patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes. <\/p>\n \u201cThe PBAC acknowledged the clinical need for additional effective treatment options for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, noting that a proportion of patients do not achieve adequate glycaemic control with currently PBS-listed therapies,\u201d it said in its recommendation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe PBAC noted that tirzepatide is currently available through the private market and considered that PBS listing would improve equity of access, particularly for patients for whom cost may be a barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the government agrees a single price with pharmaceutical companies to buy their medication, and provide it for a fixed co-payment of $25 for most patients.<\/p>\n Eli Lilly has applied to the scheme\u2019s advisory committee four times for a funding deal to list the medication on the scheme.<\/p>\n Manny Simons, Eli Lilly\u2019s general manager in Australia and New Zealand, said the price offered by the government was lower than other prices agreed globally, and included conditions the company found \u201cunrealistic and unviable\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not make this decision lightly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Strict funding caps on the deal would have exposed Eli Lilly to disproportionate financial risk, the company said.<\/p>\n The US-based company estimated about 450,000 Australians would be eligible for subsidised Mounjaro under its PBS proposal.<\/p>\n Related Article The World Health Organisation last year included Mounjaro on its list of essential medications for Type 2 diabetes, and urged governments such as Australia<\/a> to make GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs more affordable for people with obesity.<\/p>\n But Simons said Friday\u2019s outcome could hamper efforts to have the medication listed for other conditions for which Mounjaro may be an effective treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on today\u2019s outcome, it is difficult to see how a PBS listing for Mounjaro could be secured for Australians living with obesity or obesity-related disease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Simons said the door was now shut on a deal to list Mounjaro on the PBS for Type 2 diabetes, but the company was open to negotiating with the government on a solution outside the scheme.<\/p>\n Federal Health Minister Mark Butler declined to comment.<\/p>\n The PBS has caused tension between the federal government and the Trump administration<\/a>, the latter arguing the single buyer model \u201csignificantly undervalues American innovation through unfair drug pricing practices\u201d.<\/p>\n More than 100 medications recommended for subsidies have not progressed to a PBS listing in the last five years, the company said in its statement.<\/p>\n In December, the PBAC recommended another weight loss drug<\/a>, semaglutide (sold as Wegovy), be subsidised for patients with obesity and heart disease who have experienced a heart attack or stroke or who have symptomatic peripheral arterial disease.<\/p>\n Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox<\/a> every Monday.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Eli](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/739c36a75bc0d3f67a98415ac726494bcc152e62.jpeg\")
Eli Lilly says the federal government\u2019s offered price was \u201cunviable and unsustainable\u201d. Bloomberg<\/p>\n![\"Pharmaceutical](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/d17ae22a6113544b0fe5ceb5aa1a2a5e40f1c7a9.jpeg\")
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Angus Thomson<\/a> is a reporter covering health at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 24, 2026 \u2014 5:46pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414939,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[103,61,60,371],"class_list":{"0":"post-415253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}