Reducing Wastage of Chemotherapy Medicines

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PDF printable version of Reducing Wastage of Chemotherapy Medicines (PDF 18 KB)

20 August 2009

The Government has continued its discussions with key stakeholders regarding the 2008-09 Budget measure to reduce wastage of valuable chemotherapy medicines.

The Government remains committed to implementing this savings measure, because the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and ultimately taxpayers will benefit from reducing wastage of these valuable and lifesaving medicines.

Unless wastage of these medicines is reduced, many expensive new treatments will not be sufficiently cost effective to be able to be listed on the PBS in the future.

For example, without this measure, it is unlikely that Avastin® would have been able to be listed on the PBS, as it would cost about $40 million more. This would deny treatment to about 2000 patients a year with colorectal cancer.

Patient safety would not be compromised under the measure, nor would patients pay more.

Despite ongoing discussions with stakeholders, a number of issues remain outstanding.

One of these issues is with the breast cancer medicine Herceptin®. The Government is in discussions with its manufacturer Roche on whether the medicine could be provided in different vial sizes in Australia, as is the case in other countries, to help reduce the level of wastage.

The Government is delaying implementation of the measure and intends to discuss the measure further in the context of negotiations for the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement.

This will enable the measure to be implemented in the context of improving the efficiency of pharmacy dispensing arrangements and reducing inefficiencies and waste incurred through existing practices.

The Government remains committed to reducing wastage of valuable medicines, so that we can support access to these life saving treatments into the future.

For all media inquiries, please contact the Minister's Office on 02 6277 7220.