PBAC defers 44 submissions due to capacity constraints

Advocacy group Better Access Australia has launched a petition for DoHAC to reverse its decision.

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Not-for-profit advocacy group Better Access Australia has launched a petition after the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee deferred 44 out of 77 medicine applications to be considered at the March 2025 meeting due to capacity concerns, according to the group. 

As reported by TMR’s sister publication, Health Services Daily, last week the Department of Health and Aged Care announced that it would be deferring a number of submissions to the PBAC, as capacity had been exceeded. 

According to the PBS announcement, pharmaceutical companies planned on bringing forward more than 50 major submissions for consideration in March. 

“This is an unprecedented number and exceeds both the current capacity of the contracted Health Technology Assessment workforce for evaluation, and the number the PBAC can consider in one meeting,” said the announcement.  

“The department does not control the number of submissions brought forward by sponsoring pharmaceutical companies and on very rare occasions – a handful in the past 10 years – the number has exceeded evaluation capacity. 

“The department has contacted existing and additional providers of HTA evaluation services but there is not enough capacity available to be able to consider all the submissions at the March meeting.  

“It will therefore be necessary to consider some of the submissions at a later meeting.” 

In response, Better Access has launched a petition calling on the federal government to reverse this decision, citing impacts on patients and a lack of consultation on which listings were deferred. 

“The PBAC had held a secret meeting to determine those medicines they would proceed with and those they would not,” reads the Better Access Australia release. 

“Patients were not consulted, and still do not know which of the medicines they are awaiting access to have been indefinitely delayed.   

“Does the list of medicines include cancer treatments, or treatments for chronic or rare diseases? The community simply does not know.” 

Better Access Australia called on members of the public to sign its petition. 

According to the group, similar actions were taken following the deferral of seven PBS listings in 2011. 

“The community and the Parliament took a stand against this egregious breach of the social compact the PBS represents as the cornerstone of medicine and cornerstone of public health access in Australia,” it said. 

“Thereafter, bipartisan support for listing all recommendations of the PBAC was secured, with both major parties going to the 2022 election promising to list PBS recommendations made by the PBAC.” 

Opposition spokesperson for health and aged care Senator Anne Ruston raised concerns regarding the number of listings deferred and that PBAC was putting a cap on access to medicine for the first time in history. 

“There is no doubt that this will result in serious delays for patients waiting to access potentially life-saving or life-changing new medicines or treatments at an affordable price,” she said.   

“This is unacceptable, especially when the government has just released their Health Technology Assessment Review, which acknowledges that Australia has fallen behind the pack when it comes to timely access to new medicines and treatments.” 

According to the PBS announcement, the PBAC’s decision to hold over some of the submissions was not taken lightly “given the potential implications for patients, clinicians and sponsors”. 

“In selecting submissions for the March 2025 agenda, the PBAC used its clinical judgment and experience, providing a consistent and standard approach across all submissions. 

“This patient-centred approach considered: clinical need, high added therapeutic value and the nature of the condition.” 

Submissions held over from March 2025 will be considered at the PBAC’s July 2025 meeting subject to submission volume and capacity for that meeting. 

The DoHAC has written to all of the affected companies as well as Medicines Australia, said the PBS.  

“We will be keeping in close contact as we progress these issues.”