PBS Summary of Changes for 1 June 2019

Page last updated: 10 May 2019

The Prime Minister has announced an 18 May 2019 federal election and as such, the Department of Health is operating in accordance with the caretaker conventions. More information about the caretaker conventions is available on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet website.

Under these conventions, departments and agencies restrict their activities during the caretaker period to protect the apolitical nature of the public service. Generally the APS will avoid actions taken during the caretaker period that would bind an incoming government.

As has been the case in previous caretaker periods, decisions about new or amended Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listings that would have a financial impact to the budget or bind an incoming Government would not ordinarily be progressed during the caretaker period.

The Minister’s delegate in the Department of Health has approved listings without a financial impact for inclusion on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 June 2019.  These listings have been agreed to have no financial impact to Government and can therefore be listed during the caretaker period.

The new and amended listings for the 1 June 2019 Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits include:

• A new listing to address a supply shortage, ensuring continuing access to treatment for patients affected by specific medical conditions.  This change will ensure continuity of treatment.
• New forms and a new pack size of certain medicines, where the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) has made recommendations about adding these new items to the PBS.
• An amendment to the restriction of a previously listed medicine to clarify the conditions for subsidy; and
• Additions of new brands to the PBS of previously listed medicines.

These changes will come into effect on 1 June 2019, subject to the relevant legislative requirements being met.  No subsidy is payable until that date.  The detail of the changes is in the following table:

Medicine	Condition
Insulin Aspart (Fiasp®)   Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Pty Limited	Condition: Diabetes mellitus in adults   Medicine treats: Used to improve blood sugar control in adults with diabetes mellitus.   This is a new form of insulin aspart.
Iron (as Ferric Carboxymaltose) (Ferinject®)   Vifor Pharma Pty Ltd	Condition: Iron deficiency anaemia   Medicine treats: Iron deficiency where oral iron preparations are ineffective or cannot be used.   This is a new strength of Ferinject for patients already accessing treatment.
Bleomycin (Bleomycin for injection USP®)   Pro Pharmaceuticals   S100 – Efficient Funding of Chemotherapy	Condition: Germ cell neoplasms and lymphoma   Medicine treats: Certain types of cancer   This medicine is being provided to address a supply shortage created by the unavailability of other brands currently listed on the PBS.   Listing this medicine will ensure an uninterrupted supply for affected patients.
Ethosuximide (Zarontin®)   Clinect Pty Ltd	Condition: Epilepsy   Medicine treats: Used to control petit mal seizures (fits) in children and adults.   There has been a change in the size of the pack of this medicine.
Guanfacine (Intuniv®)   Shire Australia Pty Limited	Condition: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)   Medicine treats: The symptoms of ADHD   Part of the restriction in regards to continuing therapy was amended to ensure accuracy.   There is no change to the current listing.