Aug 12

As momentum continues for a push for more affordable access to a class of blockbuster weight-loss drugs, Australia’s Health Minister has given an update on how close a PBS listing is while negotiations continue with leading manufacturers.

 

Interest in GLP-1 RAs has accelerated with little sign of slowing, prompting the Federal Government to work with drug manufacturers to improve patient access – with the RACGP continuing to call for GPs’ role in obesity prevention and management to remain central.

 

Progress **on one version of semaglutide (sold as Wegovy) has seen Therapeutic Goods Administration approval for specific weight management criteria, reducing major events in adults with established cardiovascular disease, and provisional approval for severe fatty liver disease, with current PBS listings for a staged rollout of Wegovy for treatment of people with obesity and cardiovascular disease risk**.

 

But with no population-wide listing of weight-management medications currently on the PBS and patients paying thousands each year on the private market, Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler was again questioned this week on the advancements, highlighting that establishing an agreed price remains the biggest hurdle.

 

‘This is a revolutionary class of drugs, and I certainly want to see them on the PBS so that Australians have access to them in an equitable way,’ he said.

 

‘**My department has been working with the \[pharmaceutical\] companies to try and agree a price that they’re willing to receive and we’re willing to pay on behalf of taxpayers – and we haven’t been able to agree that price yet**.

 

‘That is the main barrier to getting that first listing onto the PBS.’

 

Recent research reveals around half a million Australians are using GLP-1 RAs, with almost half paying between $200–700 out-of-pocket monthly to access them for conditions other than diabetes.

 

Minister Butler says GLP-1 RAs are ‘too important a class of drugs’ not to have on the PBS and has confirmed his negotiations continue with the two market leaders, manufacturers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

 

**‘There are too many benefits for too many Australians to have it available only to those who are able to find $5000 or $6000 a year for it,’** he said.

 

‘**There’s hard work ahead of us, but I’ve made my position clear to the two companies that have these drugs in the market ... and on behalf of the Government and on behalf of Australians that this drug must be on the PBS at some point**.’

Australia's Health Minister confirms ongoing price talks with Novo Nordisk for PBS (subsidy) listing of Wegovy