The new listings include Tezepelumab, sold as Tezspire, for patients aged 12 and over with severe uncontrolled asthma. <\/p>\n
The injection helps reduce inflammation in the airways and lowers the risk of asthma attacks. <\/p>\n
For 22-year-old Chloe Thompson, severe asthma has made everyday life a battle. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really tough to live with severe asthma,\u201d she told 7NEWS. <\/p>\n
\u201cA bad day looks like waking up multiple times throughout the night, can\u2019t breathe….you feel like you\u2019re trapped\u201d <\/p>\n
Health Minister Mark Butler described the July listings as a \u201cblockbuster month\u201d for cheaper medicines. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is genuinely life-changing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt may well prevent people from being hospitalised.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"Kirsti](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0dc52f648265019fbeaff3aca8bbd56145eaf933.jpg\")
Kirsti Wetton\u2019s daughters live with severe food allergies. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n
Other new listings include Neffy, the first adrenaline nasal spray listed on the PBS<\/a> for children over four and adults at significant risk of anaphylaxis.<\/p>\n It offers an alternative to injectable adrenaline, with about 150,000 Australians expected to benefit.
<\/p>\n For mum Kirsti Wetton, whose daughters live with severe food allergies, it is a major breakthrough.
<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a really amazing addition to our first aid kit,\u201d she said.
<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019d give us more freedom.\u201d
<\/p>\n The PBS will also subsidise Somapacitan, sold as Sogroya, a weekly growth hormone treatment for children with growth hormone deficiency, and Insulin degludec, sold as Tresiba Penfill, a long acting insulin for people with type 1 diabetes.
<\/p>\n Cancer medications among the reduced cost haul<\/p>\n Several cancer medicines will also be added or expanded.
<\/p>\n Romidepsin, sold as Romidepsin-Reach, will be listed for some adults with peripheral T-cell lymphoma, a rare blood cancer.
<\/p>\n Alectinib, sold as Alecensa, will be expanded for some lung cancer patients, while Pertuzumab, sold as Perjeta, will be expanded for more than 3,300 Australians with high risk HER2 positive early breast cancer.
<\/p>\n Play Video<\/p>\n The Federal Health Minister has conceded the pharmaceutical benefit scheme is under growing pressure as billion-dollar drug companies demand higher prices for their products.<\/p>\n The Federal Health Minister has conceded the pharmaceutical benefit scheme is under growing pressure as billion-dollar drug companies demand higher prices for their products.<\/p>\n Osimertinib, sold as Tagrisso, will be expanded for some patients with EGFR mutated non-small cell lung cancer.
<\/p>\n Futibatinib, sold as Lytgobi, will be listed for some patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer that forms in the bile ducts.
<\/p>\n Rozanolixizumab, sold as Rystiggo, will be listed for adults with generalised myasthenia gravis, a chronic condition that causes worsening muscle weakness and can affect breathing, swallowing and speech.
<\/p>\n Some patients are left behind<\/p>\n But while some patients are gaining access to new medicines, others are still being left behind.
<\/p>\n Jessica Panigiris, 36, who has a rare form of ovarian cancer, said many treatments remain out of reach.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the medications that we need aren\u2019t covered under the PBS,\u201d she said.
<\/p>\n Rare Cancers Australia chief executive Christine Cockburn said the system is too slow.
<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately the pace that medicines are coming to market to Australian patients is far too slow,\u201d she told 7NEWS..
<\/p>\n \u201cIn the worst circumstances of course people just go without in which case they\u2019re having substandard therapies or they\u2019re going without completely and you can only assume the outcomes are worse and they\u2019re dying sooner.\u201d
<\/p>\n PBS under pressure amid push for higher prices globally<\/p>\n The pressure on the PBS is also growing as pharmaceutical companies push for higher prices and global drug pricing shifts in the United States.
<\/p>\n It comes as AstraZeneca prepares to pull Zoladex from Australian shelves in November, leaving thousands of women who rely on the hormone blocking treatment for breast cancer, endometriosis and other conditions facing uncertainty.
<\/p>\n Breast cancer survivor, 33-year-old mother Rhiannon Abshoff, said the monthly injection has given her hope of a longer future.
<\/p>\n \u201cFor me they\u2019re life-extending,\u201d she said.
<\/p>\n \u201cThey make sure that I can dream about having a really long future.\u201d
<\/p>\n She only found out about the drug\u2019s removal on social media.
<\/p>\n \u201cFirst I was really s****y because I found out on social media, which is not how anyone should ever find out that their drug\u2019s being pulled off the shelves,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I was even more annoyed that it\u2019s for Australia and not other countries. That feels like purely a financial decision on something that\u2019s my life.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to live my life six months at a time.<\/p>\n \u201cYou spend a year in treatment fighting cancer to get to the end and feeling that you\u2019ve got some security and some sense of certainty back and the truth is that we don\u2019t. And to know that the certainty of my life comes down to the hands of a pharmaceutical company really sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n AstraZeneca says it will provide free access to the drug for patients who cannot receive alternative treatments, but there\u2019s no indication how long that will last.
<\/p>\n President of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Dr Nisha Khot told 7NEWS it\u2019s a devastating blow for women\u2019s health.
<\/p>\n \u201cWomen rely on this medication to be able to function in their lives to be able to preserve their fertility so that they can have children in the future. This is a huge blow for women\u2019s health,\u201d Khot said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are serious about women\u2019s health, then we need to fund women\u2019s health properly.\u201d
<\/p>\n The company is seeking PBS approval for a stronger three-month injection.
<\/p>\n Health Minister vows to continue improving the PBS<\/p>\n Butler acknowledged the PBS is under increasing pressure as the number of breakthrough medicines continues to grow and pharmaceutical companies push for higher prices.<\/p>\n He said Australia was also dealing with uncertainty in the global medicines market following recent changes to drug pricing policy in the United States, which has prompted companies to take a tougher approach during PBS negotiations.
<\/p>\n \u201cThat means often we\u2019re in a price negotiation with those companies to deliver a price that works for them, but also works for taxpayers as well,\u201d he said.
<\/p>\n The minister said the government was working with industry and patient groups to speed up access to new medicines while ensuring the PBS remained sustainable.
<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d like to see it happen more quickly and we\u2019re doing a lot of work with industry and patient groups on that right now,\u201d he said.
<\/p>\n Despite growing concern from patient advocates that Australians are waiting too long for some cutting-edge treatments, Butler said his priority was ensuring patients continued to benefit from the rapid pace of medical innovation.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure that Australians aren\u2019t just reading about that being available in other countries, that they\u2019re confident it\u2019s going to be available here for them or for their loved ones,\u201d he said.
<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my commitment as health minister.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bc0e4dc317de8023241dc2439193ebc3f7d7982b.jpg\")
Jessica Panigiris has a rare form of ovarian cancer. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n![\"Breast](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/82311bbf90effaf9e41ca557a2419fbacb91eb81.jpg\")
Breast cancer survivor, 33-year-old mother Rhiannon Abshoff. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n![\"Zoladex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7f5c36c4026fe788acd078b0f6072cba3c6a20b3.jpg\")
Zoladex will be pulled from Australian shelves in November. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n![\"Health](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ad1cbc0f7b7117c4193af94719b59912d4d07b27.jpg\")
Health Minister Mark Butler. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n