MS Patients Face Losing Cheap Access to $30,000 Drug

Multiple Sclerosis Patients Face Losing Cheap Access to $30,000 drug

A decision is looming on whether thousands of Australians with multiple sclerosis (MS) will continue getting subsidised access to two life-changing drugs. The medications, which go by the brand names Ocrevus and Kesimpta, are listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) but are up for review at a meeting this week, where the government is pushing for a substantial price cut. Without government support, Ocrevus could cost patients as much a…

MS patients face losing cheap access to $30,000 drug

An overhaul of drug pricing in the US is partly to blame for two companies threatening to pull their products from Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Critical drugs could be pulled from PBS amid pricing stoush

The latest PBS stoush with drugmakers means thousands of people with MS are at risk of being forced to pay $33,000 a year for lifesaving medication.