Medicines industry says measures are in place to mitigate supply ‘risk’

The peak body representing the medicines industry in Australia has says it ‘understands the intent’ of government moves to introduce two-month dispensing of pharmaceuticals.

Medicines Australia chief executive Liz De Somer.

The peak body representing the medicines industry in Australia says it “understand the intent’ of moves to introduce two-month dispensing of pharmaceuticals and has pointing to the expertise of the federal government’s top independent advisers who recommended the change in managing and monitoring supply chains.

Medicines Australia chief executive Liz De Somer said the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee had access to current and accurate information on medicine shortages that were taken into account in recommending 324 medicines be dispensed for 60 days instead of restricted to a 30-day supply.

The PBAC recommended longer dispensing in 2018 and updated its advice last December, which the government has now acted upon, to the fury of the powerful Pharmacy Guild which has claimed the move would result in a medicines shortage “hunger games” and send many community pharmacies to the wall.

“We understand the government’s intent on trying to alleviate cost of living pressures for Australians,” Ms De Somer said. “And we know that the pressures on primary care are real.”

Ms De Somer said measures put in place to bolster Australia’s domestic supply of medicines in the wake of medicines shortages exacerbated by the pandemic would help alleviate any risk of supply shortages. Under an agreement to come into force in July, manu­facturers were obliged to ensure they hold more supplies of medicines in Australia. T

And Ms De Somer said the PBAC would be unlikely to make a recommendation that would place Australia’s supply of common medicines in peril.

“The PBAC are the independent expert advisory body to the government, and they will have all the advice from the whole department of health, which would include the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme divisions of those departments,” she said.

“So I would imagine that the information that they’ve been provided as to medicines shortages is probably as accurate as you’re going to get.

“I think that PBAC will be acting on the advice that they have received … directly from the TGA. So I certainly wouldn’t be questioning the PBAC’s expert ability.”

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler slapped down Pharmacy Guild claims of mass medicine shortages as a “scare campaign … by the pharmacy lobby group”, with only seven of the 325 medicines eligible for 60-day dispensing subject to supply shortages.

“This is not going to change the number of tablets dispensed in a given period of time,” he said. “It is simply going to mean that people can get two boxes at a time, instead of having to get one box and come back twice as often.”

The failure of the influential Pharmacy Guild, a big political donor, to sway the government has caused shockwaves in Canberra. The community pharmacy sector has been experiencing ­rising profits, with a 34 per cent lift in spending in pharmacies in the past four years. However, 60-day dispensing will hit pharmacy owners’ profits hard, especially in rural and regional areas, with the guild estimating $350m will be ripped out of the sector.

Pharmacy Guild president Trent Twomey said the government “just didn’t care”. He accused Labor MPs of “taking their phones off the hook” in response to complaints and said Labor spin doctors should “get off their arse” and talk to pharmacy owners.